Two women were killed and three young boys were left in critical condition Thursday morning when multiple shooters opened fire into a Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood home on the South Side, according to Chicago police.
About 6:15 a.m., officers responding to a ShotSpotter gunshot detection alert as well as 911 calls found the women, ages 42 and 22, along with the children — ranging in age from 5 to 8 — all wounded inside the home in the 7100 block of South Woodlawn, according to CPD Deputy Chief Don Jerome.
The officers provided first aid, but the older woman died at the scene, Jerome said during a press conference near the scene. Family members identified her as Nakeeshia Strong.
The younger woman died at the University of Chicago Medical Center. Authorities hadn’t released her name as of Saturday afternoon.
The boys were taken to Comer Children’s Hospital in critical condition. Police said they were 5, 7 and 8, but a relative said one of the boys is 6.
That family member told the Sun-Times he was inside the home at the time of the shooting, identifying his mother, brother and cousins among the victims.
“I heard popping noises and came out my room and saw my 6-year-old brother with gunshot wounds to his body,” said the relative, who declined to share his name.
“I come out to the front room and [my cousin is] laying down and not even responding,” he said. “My mom was face down, and my little brother was in my momma’s room fighting for his life.”
A preliminary investigation suggested two vehicles pulled up to the home, multiple shooters got out and they fired shots at the home, Jerome said, adding it might have stemmed from a personal dispute.
Shell casings from a rifle and handgun were recovered at the scene, Jerome said. Investigators were reviewing video surveillance video and running possible license plate numbers of vehicles seen speeding from the scene.
No one was in custody.
Hours after the mass shooting, officers investigated as family members, violence prevention workers and neighbors gathered on the block.
Strong’s 19-year-old son, Frank Mixon, said he was “lost in emotions,” calling her “the love of my life for sure.”
“She was such an amazing woman. No one showed me how to go get it and work hard like her,” Mixon said across the street from where the shooting occurred.
Mixon said he and his mother had spent time a few days earlier talking about his collegiate basketball career.
“This is just a setback, a major setback for me, but if my mom was here, she’s just gonna tell me the same thing: ‘Take it on the chin and keep going.’”
Police said it wasn’t clear who was targeted in the attack.
Ald. Desmon Yancy (5th) said the block is “a relatively quiet community and isn’t really used to this sort of violence.”
“Personal conflict and guns make a bad combination,” Yancy said. “My heart bleeds for this community.”
Police asked anyone with information to submit tips anonymously at CPDtip.com.
The shooting capped a brutal start to the July Fourth holiday weekend that saw at least five other people wounded in separate attacks across the city.