Page 46 - December 2019 FOP Magazine

10th District Officers band together to lift spirits of young shooting victim
The lighthearted fun of Halloween came to a sudden halt in the 10th District when an ambulance and Chicago Police De- partment patrol cars blared through the streets, responding to the scene where a little girl dressed in a Minnie Mouse costume had been shot while trick-or-treating.
It was an evening that many 10th District officers would not soon forget, as they rushed to Giselle Zamago’s aid after she was mistakenly shot by a gang member.
“When a 7-year-old gets shot, it touches everybody,” Offi- cer Fernando Banda shared. “It hits home. A lot of us have kids somewhere in that age range.”
That night, after Giselle was rushed into emergency surgery, CPD officers worked to find and apprehend the suspect. But catching the bad guy wasn’t enough, especially for Captain Gil- bert Calderon, who, in the weeks that followed, made multiple visits to Giselle in the hospital.
“He was there from the very beginning ⁠— from the night it happened,” Banda noted. “The family took a liking to him and kept updating him, and he kept stopping in to check on her.”
The officers did everything they could to brighten Giselle’s days in the hospital, including delivering a Minnie Mouse doll to keep her company. They also made a $500 donation to the family to help with medical costs.
During one of Calderon’s visits, a nurse disclosed that it was a dream of Giselle’s to become a police officer when she grows up.
Officers visit a young girl in the hospital after she was accidentally shot while trick-or-treating.
This fun fact got the wheels turning for the officers, who want- ed to do something special for the young girl upon her release from Cook County Hospital.
On Nov. 15, Giselle was finally well enough to be discharged. And to her surprise, two Chicago Police Officers pulled up to escort her home.
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46 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ DECEMBER 2019