No bail for Chicago man accused of fatally shooting 9-year-old girl 'completely unprovoked'

CHICAGO - A Cook County judge ordered a man accused of gunning down a 9-year-old girl last weekend in Portage Park to be held without bail.

Michael Goodman, 43, appeared in bond court Tuesday. He is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Serabi ‘BiBi’ Medina on Saturday, Aug. 5 in the 3500 block of North Long Avenue.

During the hearing, Goodman was brought into the courtroom by deputies and was wearing a black tee shirt and long shorts with his hands secured behind his back. He had stitches above his left eye, an injury sustained when his gun was fired during a struggle with the victim’s father. Goodman was appointed a public defender and did not speak during Tuesday’s proceeding.  

"It’s one step closer that we know he’s been charged, but it’s not good enough. I wish this individual rots in hell, where he deserves to be with his maker," said Rene Aquino, eyewitness and friend of Serabi Medina’s father.

Filled with heartache and grief over her brutal killing, community members continued to leave flowers, stuffed animals and candles at a memorial for the child, who would have started fourth grade later this month.

"She was a beautiful little girl, and him being a father that raised this little girl on his own, I feel like his world has ended," said Aquino.

Prosecutors said that on Saturday, Serabi Medina was on her scooter and her 52-year-old father, Michael Medina, was outside his residence chatting with a few friends who were sitting in their vehicle.

One of Michael Medina’s friends gave the girl money to buy ice cream from a nearby ice cream truck.

"She came back with two ice cream cones and said, ‘here Daddy, I got you an ice cream,’" said Aquino.

Minutes later, a gunshot rang out nearby. Prosecutors, on Tuesday, revealed the shot was allegedly fired by Goodman in his apartment, where a bullet was later found lodged into the wall.

Michael Medina told his daughter to take her scooter and go inside their apartment, according to a bond proffer read in court.

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As Serabi Medina got close to the front door of their apartment building, Goodman came out of his building – located directly across the street – holding a gun. One of Michael Medina’s friends, still in the vehicle, alerted others to Goodman who he saw crossing the street with a gun in his hand, approaching the child, prosecutors said.

Michael Medina shouted at Goodman and rushed toward him.

"The defendant ignored the victim’s father and instead followed the victim toward the vestibule of her building. While the victim’s father ran to his daughter, he observed the defendant raise the firearm, point it at the victim, and shoot the victim in the head," said Cook County Assistant State’s Attorney Anne McCord.

Michael Medina tackled Goodman into the vestibule and the gun went off again, striking Goodman in the eye, prosecutors said.

Serabi Medina was rushed to Stroger Hospital in critical condition, but was later pronounced dead from a gunshot wound to the head, according to the medical examiner's office.

During the shooting, Aquino says the suspect had ‘tunnel vision,’ and was wearing what he initially thought were headphones – only to share a troubling new detail with FOX 32 Chicago on Tuesday.  

"They had retrieved them and investigated that they were not headphones, they were earmuffs that are used in a shooting range when you shoot a gun," said Aquino.

Investigators swabbed Goodman's hands and they tested positive for gunshot residue, according to the proffer.

"I’m feeling horrible because, like I said, I’m a disabled man with one leg. I had just finished playing a wheelchair softball tournament, had I had two legs, I think I’d have jumped out of that truck," said Aquino.

Michael Medina and the three people he was with, including Aquino, positively identified Goodman as the gunman. Police recovered a 9mm shell casing outside Medina's apartment and a 9mm Canik gun from the vestibule where he was tackled, prosecutors said. The gun still contained a shell casing jammed inside of it.

When investigators searched Goodman's apartment, they discovered a 9mm bullet lodged in a wall, a 9mm shell casing, a box of 9mm ammo with the same headstamp as shell casings recovered from the scene, and a Canik gun box.

Prosecutors said the box contained a receipt for the gun with Goodman's name on it, and a serial number, which matched the serial number on the gun found in front of Medina's apartment building.

Goodman also had a valid FOID card, which investigators recovered from his apartment.

Prosecutors said Goodman had no arrests prior to Saturday.

Loved ones and neighbors say the attack on the little girl was "completely unprovoked."

"She was sweet, she would just ride her scooter up and down the sidewalk smiling," said Destiny Hill, a neighbor. "An innocent, innocent girl who did not deserve that."

On Monday evening, loved ones and neighbors came together to remember the young girl. Family members, friends and even strangers gathered to release purple balloons in her memory.

Sadly, her life was taken in the same way she lost her mom several years ago – by gun violence, according to friends of the family.

"Serabi has the best personality, just big personality," said Megan Kelley, family friend. "And that girl was funny, I’m telling you we would crack up with her all the time. She was a great kid. Something needs to be done. Something has to change."

A GoFundMe account set up to help cover the cost of Serabi Medina’s funeral, as of Tuesday night, had raised more than $17,000.

Editor's note: Originally, police and the medical examiner said Serabi Medina was eight years old. The ME has since sent a revised release, stating she is 9 years old.