The mother of the woman accused of stabbing a 7-year-old girl to death told NBC Chicago on Monday that her daughter needed  help  and expressed condolences to the victim's family.

Her daughter, Shavon Gayden, 48, was taken into custody after witnesses detained her at the scene and was later charged with first-degree murder.

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Gayden was absent from a court hearing on Monday because she remained in the hospital after suffering injuries while being detained by witnesses.

Prosecutors said 7-year-old Eddimar Paola Hernández Chacón was walking just before noon Saturday down the street with her teen sister, going to pay a phone bill at a business. The pair were holding hands as they exited the store and continued along the street.

Around that time, prosecutors said Gayden was reported to have threatened a sales associate at a business before she exited the store and began walking in the opposite direction, carrying a tote bag with pumpkins on it.

Employees at the business told NBC Chicago Gayden began yelling profanities and threatened to kill them, but never showed a weapon.

Once outside, prosecutors said Gayden used the knife that was in her bag to lunge toward Eddimar's sister. When the teen ducked, her younger sister became the next target, and Gayden stabbed her multiple times in the back.

A nursing student told NBC Chicago she witnessed the stabbing then jumped in to put pressure on Eddimar's wounds.

In addition to first-degree murder, Gayden is charged with violating probation. Gayden's criminal history includes a 2023 aggravated battery conviction, for which she was sentenced to two years of probation. A year later, she pleaded guilty to another battery charge and received six months of probation.

Gayden was ordered detained until her next court hearing on Wednesday.

Eddimar's mother said her daughter was  just a little girl,  and she wasn't bothering Gayden when she was attacked.

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