ST. LOUIS — It's happened again. Another child was shot and killed in the city of St. Louis.
This time, an 11-year girl, found shot in the head in north city. The shooting sent shock waves through the neighborhood.
"It's just outrageous, it's just going too far," said Tammy Brown, a friend of the victim.
St. Louis Police officers found Charnija Keys just before midnight Monday.
Suffering from a bullet to the head, the pre-teen was taken from the 1500 block of N. 20th to the hospital where she later died.
"She had a lot of friends, she was popular over here, everybody knew her, you know, it just hurt to know that something like this happened to a girl that was 11-years-old," said Brown.
Neighbors who did not want to be on camera say the shooting happened inside of the victim's home.
They remembered hearing a loud boom before the victim's mother ran outside banging on neighboring doors to ask for help.
"I saw last night their door was wide open, the police was there but I didn't know what was going on," said Brown.
Tammy Brown said her little sister considered Charnija a close friend.
They referred to her as Chuckie, a playful little girl who left a lasting impression.
"I ain't hear about it until this morning, shocking. It hurt."
St. Louis police haven't released much but say that they are calling the shooting suspicious.
"Full-scale investigation. We're trying to figure out everything that happened last night with the 11-year-old," said St. Louis Metropolitan Police Chief John Hayden.
Chief Hayden sat down with 5 On Your Side and is hoping community cooperation will help solve cases like Charnija's.
"They're not involved in anything that would contribute to their own demise so we're asking the public to help us solve those particular crimes," said Chief Hayden.
Monday night, the child abuse unit and homicide detectives were all on scene.
Tuesday Child Protective Services went back to that home, to check on the welfare of the victim's sister.
On all fronts, this is still a very active investigation.