Suspect in custody over 7-year-old's shooting

June 30, 2012 (CHICAGO) (WLS) -- Investigators were back on the block where 7-year-old Heaven Sutton was gunned down while selling candy.

Earlier, at a community forum in the Chatham neighborhood, Chicago's top cop announced a break in the case.

"(Friday) night at 11:00, we took into custody a person who we believe is responsible for that shooting," Chicago police Superintendent Garry McCarthy said.

"I feel just a little bit better," said Sutton's mother, Ashake Banks. "Maybe i can get a little rest tonight."

After meeting with police, Sutton's mother said she believes more than one person is responsible for the shooting.

"It's someone from the neighborhood," Banks said. "They're all from the neighborhood. Anything bad going on in this neighborhood, it's not other people coming from other neighborhoods. They live here. They sleep here. They have kids. They have families. They stay here."

"I feel that they're doing a great job on the case so far," said Richard Harrington, Sutton's uncle. "I just hope everybody who's got something to do with it gets charged with it."

"Bringing Heaven's shooter to justice will not bring her back, but I hope it will provide some level of solace to her family," Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said in a statement.

Word of an arrest comes on a day of anti-violence events across the city, including the Victorious Over Violence 9K walk along Lake Shore Drive.

In the Hyde Park neighborhood Saturday night, a rally was held by the non-profit group the Chicago Wisdom Project held a fundraiser, which helps kids express themselves through art, music, and poetry, rather than through violence

"The sort of rebellious energy that a lot of kids have, that's something we need," said Theodore Richards. "We need fresh, creative ideas. We just have to find a way to channel all that energy in a positive way."

Through the program, 17-year-old Sherron Garrett of Englewood has become quite a poet.

"What is a gun?" Garrett asks through his poetry. "No one can make you pull the trigger. That's your choice. The gun is just an object."

"They need programs around, every way in all the communities," Harrington said. "How do we expect to protect them when there's thugs running around here and they ain't got nowhere to go?"

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local, eric horng

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