2 women killed, 3 children seriously injured in shooting on the South Side

Two women were killed and three young boys were left in critical condition Thursday morning when multiple gunmen opened fire on a home in the Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood on the South Side, according to Chicago police.

At around 6:15 a.m., officers responded to a ShotSpotter gunshot detection alert and 911 calls. They found the women, ages 42 and 24, and the children — ages 5 to 8 — all injured inside the home in the 7100 block of South Woodlawn, according to CPD Assistant Chief Don Jerome.

Officers administered first aid, but Nakeeshia Strong, 42, died at the scene, Jerome said during a news conference near the scene.

Capri Edwards, 24, died at the University of Chicago Medical Center, the Cook County Coroner’s Office said.

The boys were taken to Como Children’s Hospital in critical condition. Police said they were 5, 7 and 8 years old, but a relative said one of the boys was 6.

That family member told the Sun-Times he was in the home at the time of the shooting and identified his mother, brother and cousins ​​among the victims.

“I heard loud bangs, came out of my room and saw my six-year-old brother with gunshot wounds on his body,” said the relative, who did not want to give his name.

“I come into the living room and (my cousin) is laying there not even responding,” he said. “My mother was face down and my little brother was fighting for his life in my mother’s room.”

A preliminary investigation indicated that two vehicles stopped in front of the house, several shooters got out and fired at the house, Jerome said, adding that it may have been a personal dispute.

Shell casings from a rifle and a pistol were found at the scene, Jerome said. Investigators reviewed video surveillance footage and checked possible license plates of vehicles that had driven away from the scene at high speeds.

No one was taken into 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 his feelings” and called her “definitely the love of my life.”

“She was such an amazing woman. Nobody showed me how to get it and work as hard as she did,” Mixon said across the street from where the shooting took place.

Mixon said he and his mother had talked about his college basketball career a few days earlier.

“This is just a setback, a big setback for me, but if my mother were here, she would tell me the same thing: ‘Take it and move on.'”

Police said it was unclear who the target of the attack was.

Ald. Desmon Yancy (5th) said the area around the block is “a relatively quiet community and is not really used to this type of violence.”

“Personal conflict and guns are a bad combination,” Yancy said. “My heart bleeds for this community.”

Mayor Brandon Johnson said his office will work with police and Yancy to provide assistance to the victims’ families and friends.

“On behalf of the City of Chicago, we extend our deepest condolences to the families and community of Grand Crossing as they mourn the victims of this morning’s shooting,” Johnson said in a statement. “We will continue to work with our partners at the Chicago Police Department, 5th District Alderman Desmon Yancy, and our partners at Victim Services to support this community on the path to healing from this tragic incident.”

Police urged anyone with information to submit their tips anonymously to CPDtip.com.

The shooting capped a brutal start to the Fourth of July holiday weekend, during which at least five other people were injured in separate attacks across the city.

Contributors: Cindy Hernandez