Police said a known offender jumped from an upper-level window after the attack.
CHICAGO, IL — An infant girl was fatally stabbed Friday morning inside a home in Gage Park, and a suspect was taken into custody after jumping from an upper-level window, Chicago police said.
The child, identified as Nyhnia Stovall, was attacked about 7:20 a.m. in the 3000 block of West 59th Street on the Southwest Side. Police said the suspect was known to the child and used a knife inside the residence. Investigators recovered a knife at the scene, and charges remained pending Friday.
Nyhnia was taken to Comer Children’s Hospital after she was stabbed in the chest, police said. She was pronounced dead there. The suspect jumped from an upper-level window after the stabbing and was injured in the fall. Police said the person was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where the suspect’s condition had stabilized. No other injuries were reported. Area One detectives were investigating the case as domestic-related, but police had not released the suspect’s name, age, gender or exact relationship to the child.
The stabbing brought police cars, ambulances and investigators to a block lined with apartments, small businesses and a nearby early childhood center. Evelyn Iniguez, a school clerk at Barbara Vick Village Early Childhood and Family Center, said she arrived shortly after the emergency response began and found the street blocked. “We didn’t dare go and ask,” Iniguez said. “Everybody came in to work in shock.” Students at the preschool, located at 3001 W. 59th St., were not scheduled to arrive until 8:45 a.m., and staff members kept their normal routine, she said.
Anna Padilla, who works at a barber shop a few doors from the building, said police and ambulances remained on the block when she arrived around 9 a.m. She said the response lasted for hours. “We didn’t know what happened,” Padilla said. She said some residents of the building were customers at the shop, but she did not know them personally. A witness told a television reporter that two children were placed in a police squad car after the stabbing, but police did not immediately confirm details about other children in the home.
The building’s property manager, Ivan Hernandez, said the family had moved in a few months earlier and that he had not had problems with them or other tenants. Hernandez said he received a call Friday morning about a domestic incident. A spokesperson for I & J Good Rentals LLC, Jacquelina Jablonski, said in a statement that the building community was heartbroken. “This is a tragedy, and our hearts go out to everyone affected,” Jablonski said. She said the company was in direct contact with tenants and working to make sure they had support and resources.
The block near 59th Street and Sacramento Avenue had returned to a quieter scene by Friday afternoon, after investigators cleared the area. Small businesses were open, music played from auto repair shops, and parents picked up children from the preschool across the street. The L-shaped, three-story apartment building where the stabbing was reported showed few signs of the earlier emergency response. Police had not said what led to the attack, whether anyone else was inside the home at the time, or when formal charges would be announced.
The case was under review Friday by detectives and prosecutors. Police said the suspect remained in custody while being treated after the fall. The Cook County medical examiner’s office identified the child, and an autopsy was expected to help determine the formal cause and manner of death. Authorities did not announce a court date Friday night. The investigation remained active, with detectives working to establish a timeline and gather statements from people connected to the home.
As of Saturday, police had reported no additional injuries and no public charges. The next major step is expected to be a charging decision after detectives and prosecutors complete their initial review.
Author note: Last updated May 16, 2026.