The epidemic of violence in Chicago continues, and now it seems nobody is immune. A 13-year-old girl is facing charges for first-degree murder after allegedly stabbing another teenager to death with a knife that was reportedly given to her by her own mom during a fight over the weekend.

The Chicago Tribune reports that the 35-year-old mother, Tamika Gayden, is also being charged with first-degree murder as well as contributing to the delinquency of a minor for giving her 13-year-old daughter the knife, which was used to kill 15-year-old DeKayla Dansberry. 

Concerning the teen's guilt, Assistant Cook County State's Attorney Christine Hake said, "The evidence is overwhelming." According to a report, the girl was charged as a juvenile after one witness identified her in a video. Another witness claims to have seen the teen girl wiping blood from the knife after the deadly attack.

The victim's parents attended the hearing on Tuesday and later expressed their sadness and disbelief. "A 13-year-old girl. I don't know what to say," Sheila Dansberry, the victim's mother, said outside the courthouse. "It's just devastating. A baby, too. But the parent was supposed to [have] handed her the knife, so she's locked up too, and that's good." DeKayla's father, Julian Glanton, said he didn't even know what the fight was about. "I'm not sure. I'm sure it's all just kids' stuff...escalated to where someone was stabbed," he said.

The incident occurred during a fight involving a large group on Saturday evening in the Parkway Gardens neighborhood. After the fight, one witness reportedly saw her wash blood off the knife while another saw her with the knife in her hand. Another witness reportedly heard the teen say in panic, “I killed her. I killed her.”

DeKayla was a well-liked and accomplished student with a 3.7 GPA. Her mother recalled that her daughter was planning on running track at the state meet. "The last thing she said to me was, 'Mom, you need to get everything ready, get my clothes ready [because] I'm going downstate.'" 

Two young lives cut short by senseless violence in a city that has seen far too many deaths in recent years.