Teen who performed at Obama inaugural events shot dead in Chicago

Teen who performed at Obama inaugural events shot dead in Chicago
By Catherine E. Shoichet and Ted Rowlands
CNN
updated 7:24 AM EST, Thu January 31, 2013

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
NEW: Chicago mayor: "We have a responsibility to see a stop to this"
Hadiya Pendleton, 15, was shot dead in Chicago on Tuesday
Last week she performed in events surrounding President Obama's inauguration

"Just a matter of days after the happiest day of her life, she's gone," Sen. Dick Durbin says Can there be a solution to America's gun problems? Anderson Cooper looks at both sides of the debate in "Guns Under Fire: an AC360º Town Hall Special" Thursday at 8 p.m. ET on CNN.

Chicago (CNN) -- A teen who performed at events around President Barack Obama's inauguration was shot to death in Chicago this week, and now her story has become part of the debate in Washington over gun violence nationwide.

The shooting death of 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton came up in a U.S. Senate hearing and a White House press briefing Wednesday.

"She was an honor student and a majorette," said Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois. Performing at inaugural events last week "was the highlight of her young, 15-year-old life," he said.

Speaking at Wednesday's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on gun violence, Durbin mentioned Pendleton's death as he argued that more must be done to stop gun crimes.
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