A Chicago-area man fatally shot his girlfriend and cousin, injured his young son, then fled the scene and turned the gun on himself, according to police and the victim's family.
The tragedy occurred Tuesday night in Cicero, Illinois, about 15 minutes from downtown Chicago.
Local police responded to reports of gunshots around 7:45 p.m. and found two women in dire condition. I was injured at a home in the 1800 block of South 48th Court, ABC7 reported.
A man was found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound Tuesday night in Cicero Park after fatally shooting his girlfriend and cousin and wounding their young son, according to the victim's family. https://t.co/SX5Bm3xCZc
— ABC 7 Chicago (@ABC7Chicago) January 3, 2024
The two victims, later identified as Jessica Hughes, 29, and Myeshia Newby, 19, died after being rushed to Mount Sinai Hospital.
The families of the two women, who were cousins, said that before Newby's boyfriend shot and killed Hughes, he shot Newby's young son, Arturo, as he tried to flee with her.
The baby was grazed by the gunfire, but is in stable condition and is recovering at Comer Children's Hospital after undergoing surgery.
Relatives of the victim said the couple had apparently been arguing over Link cards, also known as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.
“He just went from one thing to the next. He never yelled or anything,” Hughes' father, Mitchell Benton, told ABC7.
A heartbroken father has described the moment he heard Ms Newby arguing with her boyfriend of two years in the basement of their home.
“He came back and said, 'Hey, look at my wallet.'” She said, “So you went in there and took it out.” So she said, 'Well, there's no point in me looking into it.' And the next thing you know, I hear gunshots,” he explained.
Benton said Hughes was trying to protect Arturo when she was shot.
“My daughter fell at my feet. She was holding a baby in her hands. She was shot in the face and chest,” he said, adding that he fought with the alleged gunman but managed to escape. .
With the help of a grieving family, Cicero police were able to find 21-year-old Rafael Vega, who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound early Wednesday morning in a park near 16th Street and Central Avenue.
Authorities named Vega as the shooter at a news conference later that night.
“Preliminarily, it appears that the subject in the park is the subject we were looking for,” said Cicero Police Superintendent Thomas Boyle.
“It's a devastating situation for the whole family,” Hughes' mother Michelle Musgray said. “They were both loving, loving mothers, good souls, good people, and they loved their children. Their children were the world to them.”
Newby would have turned 20 on Thursday.
“There's no celebration. You can't celebrate life. Life doesn't exist,” Benton said.
