Chicago dad dies trying to protect daughter from gunfire while driving her to school: report

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A "loving" Chicago father has died after reportedly trying to protect his 7-year-old daughter from gunfire on Wednesday morning, according to police and local reports. 

Travell Miller, 33, was sitting in his vehicle in traffic at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday with his daughter in the backseat when the unknown suspect approached Miller with a gun and fired into his car several times before fleeing, police said. 

Travell Miller of Chicago and his daughter (Facebook)

Miller was transported to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. 

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The father's family told the Sun-Times he shielded his daughter from gunfire when the suspect started shooting, possibly saving the 7-year-old's life.

Travell Miller of Chicago and his daughter (Facebook)

"He was simply driving his daughter to school. He was talking to his mother [on the phone] as this guy runs up on the car," Miller’s father, Joseph Gilmore, told the Chicago Sun-Times on Thursday. "His mother hears her son say, ‘Dang man, what the f---.’ She hears commotion and then hears him say, ‘Mama, Mama, I’ve been shot.'"

Gilmore added that Miller's daughter is "traumatized" after watching the tragic incident unfold.

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Donors have raised more than $20,000 for Miller's funeral expenses through GoFundMe.

"[Miller] was a loving father of two beautiful daughters, a brother, a son and a beloved friend as well as an amazing bartender. He was loved by everyone who met him," the GoFundMe page reads. "Travell was a fun and joyful soul who was passionate about life and lived it to the fullest. He was a loving father that his first priority was always his two daughter[s], Norielle and Esther."

Area Three detectives are still searching for the suspect, whom police describe as being between 18 and 20 years old and was last seen driving a two-door Pontiac Grand Prix with tinted windows and no license plates. (Credit: Chicago Police Department)

Area Three detectives are still searching for the suspect, who police describe as being between 18 and 20 years old and was last seen driving a two-door Pontiac Grand Prix with tinted windows and no license plates.

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Police are asking anyone with information about the incident or suspect to call Area Three Detective Leavitt and Detective Taglieri at 312-744-8261 or submit an anonymous tip at CPDTIP.COM.