Cops Give 6-Year-Old Shooting Victim Pool to Help Her Feel Safe Playing Outside Again

CHICAGO, IL -- Big-hearted Chicago police officers surprised a 6-year-old, drive-by shooting victim with her own backyard swimming pool on Thursday afternoon.

Tacara Morgan was playing on her front porch when the occupants of a convoy of cars began shooting on her block in Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood on July 19. The little girl was shot in the stomach as she hurried to safety inside her grandparents’ home.

The 6-year-old girl underwent surgery at Comer Children’s Hospital and has been recovering ever since.

On Thursday, officers from the Area South Gangs Unit stopped by Tacara’s house bringing an inflatable swimming pool for her backyard. Her mother, Carolyn Morris, is still shaken by the shooting.

"Every time a car drives past, I'm looking, calling my kids to get in," she told the Chicago Tribune.
Taccara, her 10-year-old brother and cousin eagerly waited for the pool to be filled with water. The Chicago Fire Department also stopped by to finish filling the pool where two garden hoses left off. The police officers bought the pool with their own money.

Chicago police Sgt. Elise Padilla told the Chicago Tribune that she hoped the pool would help Tacarra feel safe playing outside again.
Tacarra, who will enter the first grade when school starts next month, is one of 22 Chicago children under the age of 13 who have been shot since the beginning of the year.

Via Chicago Police Department Facebook