Seven-year-old girl shot dead at McDonald's drive-through as spate of US gun violence continues

The girl's father was also injured in the Chicago shooting

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  Police investigate a crime scene where Jontae Adams, 28, and his daughter Jaslyn, 7, were shot, resulting in Jaslyn's death at a McDonald's drive-thru, in Chicago. AP

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  Markers identify bullet casings as police investigate the scene where Jontae Adams, 28, and his daughter Jaslyn, 7, where shot in Chicago. AP

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  A police representative speaks in the aftermath of a drive-by shooting at a liquor store in Shreveport, Louisiana. Reuters

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  Police leave the Trader Joe's parking lot across from the Arboretum Oaks apartment complex, where a deadly shooting took place in Austin, Texas. Reuters

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  A Travis County Starlight medical helicopter lands to pick up law enforcement personnel at the scene of a deadly shooting at an apartment complex in Austin, Texas. Reuters

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  Two Bureau of Criminal Apprehension agents begin investigating the scene of an officer-involved shooting, in Burnsville, Minnesota. AP

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  An investigator looks for evidence outside the Somers House Tavern in Somers, Wisconsin after a fatal shooting early on Sunday morning. AP

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  Authorities say several people were killed and a few were seriously wounded in a shooting early Sunday at the tavern in Kenosha County in southeastern Wisconsin. AP

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  A body is taken from the scene where multiple people were shot at a FedEx Ground facility in Indianapolis. A gunman killed several people and wounded others before taking his own life in a late-night attack at a FedEx facility near the Indianapolis airport, police said. AP Photo

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  The American flag files at half-staff above the White House in Washington. AP Photo

A seven-year-old girl was shot dead at a fast food drive-through in the US city of Chicago on Sunday as shooting deaths continue to climb.

Jaslyn Adams and her father, Jontae Adams, 28, were shot at while ordering food at a McDonald's in the Homan Square neighbourhood in the centre of the city.

Jaslyn was taken to Stroger Hospital by police, where she was pronounced dead. Mr Adams was shot in the torso.

The Chicago Sun Times reported that Mr Adams called his mother after the incident, telling her: "They just shot my baby."

Less than three hours later, two more people were shot in the car park of another fast food outlet less than 10 minutes drive from the scene of Jaslyn's murder. Police said the two incidents are probably linked.

Also on Sunday, five people were treated in hospital after being shot and injured in Shreveport, Louisiana, the third group shooting reported in the United States within 24 hours.

In a briefing to local news outlets, police said they were in the early stages of investigating the incident, without confirming the number of people admitted to hospital nor their condition.

The US was already on edge on Sunday after a surge of gun violence in recent weeks.

A gunman killed eight workers and himself at an Indianapolis FedEx centre on Thursday night, and at least seven deadly mass shootings have been reported in the country over the past month.

Despite the global pandemic keeping many in lockdown, 2020 was the worst year for gun violence in decades, killing 19,324 people, according to Gun Violence Archive tallies.

Mass shootings – defined as having a minimum of four victims either injured or killed, not including the shooter – are also up, with 150 incidents occurring so far in 2021.

US President Joe Biden has promised action on gun control, so far signing executive orders targeting home-made “ghost guns” and the stabilising braces for handguns that allow them to be fired from the shoulder, like a rifle.

He has not proposed new legislation to revoke gun manufacturers’ liability protections or to toughen federal background checks, despite pledging to send such legislation to Congress on his first day in office. Instead he is supporting legislation proposed by House Democrats.