CHicago. IL - With outrage over his daughter's death spreading from City Hall to the White House, Nathaniel Pendleton made a public plea Wednesday for someone to step forward and bring the 15-year-old's killer to justice.

"They took the light of my life," Pendleton said at a news conference, where a $11,000 reward was announced for information about Tuesday's slaying of Hadiya Pendleton. "This guy, whoever he was, the gunman, man, you took the light of my life. Just look at yourself and just know that you took a bright person, an innocent person, a non-violent person."

Shaking his head and collecting himself, he continued, "This kid didn't like violence at all, didn't even like to fight, avoided a fight, moved away from anything that was not positive. She was a majorette, just came back from the inauguration. She was destined for great things and you stripped that from her."

Hadiya, who last week performed at President Barack Obama's inaugural festivities, was killed when a gunman opened fire on a group of students at Harsh Park, just blocks from King College Prep and about a mile from Obama's home in Kenwood on the South Side.

Presidential spokeman Jay Carney, asked about Hadiya's death Wednesday, said it was a “terrible tragedy” any time a young person is struck down “with so much of their life ahead of them.”