Local News

5 Killed In South Side Home

Police Say Area Residents Have Nothing To Worry About, And Violence Was Confined

CHICAGO (CBS) ― Five people were fatally shot Wednesday afternoon inside a home in the Chatham neighborhood, police said.

Deputy chief Eugene Williams says all five victims -- three men and two women -- were in their 20s. Williams also says the house showed signs of forced entry. It appears all of the victims knew each other, and all were African American.

CBS 2's Mike Puccinelli reports the bodies of the victims remained in the house as of 10 p.m. Wednesday as Medical Examiner's Office personnel and crime scene investigators pore over the scene to piece together what exactly happened.

Meanwhile, area residents have nothing to worry about, police say, and the situation was contained to the home.

The incident was reported about 3:45 p.m. Wednesday after a woman attempting to visit the house found the bodies, said police spokesperson Monique Bond.

Police did not believe an offender was on the loose and the incident appeared to be isolated inside the one house, Bond said.

"We don't think that the neighbors need to worry," she said. "We believe that it's been contained inside this residence, and right now detectives are on the scene talking to neighbors and trying to get as much information as possible to follow up on leads."

Police said nothing about a motive.

Detectives said Wednesday night preliminarily the five had been shot in the home near 76th Street and King Drive.

"Basically it's a single family dwelling. There were two floors, with a basement, and all five victims were found on the first floor," said CPD Detective Division Chief Thomas Byrne.

Jonathan Williams said he knew all five victims and had just had a barbecue with them Tuesday.

"This is too crazy. It's unbelievable," he said. "These are people I'm planning my future with and they're all dead."

"It's crazy that someone would kill them over… it's lookin' like money, but at the same time, I gotta say… no one would kill everyone for money," he added.

Police went door-to-door canvassing for information, and searched the alleys near the crime scene.

Investigators say the killings do not appear to be a random act.

"It possibly could be four homicides and a suicide," Supt. Weis said. "We don't know. So we have to look and see what we actually have before we can discuss that."

Family members of victims continuously showed up at the home to check on the fate of loved ones.

Earlier Wednesday evening Cheryl Flowers told reporters police were not giving her any information until they positively identified the victims, but it was clear she feared her daughter was among the victims. She confirmed just after 10 p.m. that her daughter, Whitney, was one of the victims.

Family members on the scene tell CBS 2 among the victims is 27-year-old Anthony Scales.




 Map Of Recent Shootings

Wednesday afternoon's shooting comes on the heels of a particularly violent weekend in the city. Between Friday night and early Monday morning, 36 people were shot in Chicago, nine fatally, and two people were stabbed.

The beginning of the week saw continued violence. Over Monday night, four people were killed and eight more injured in seven separate incidents.

Tuesday night four people were shot; one of those victims died.

CBS 2's Mike Puccinelli and Kris Habermehl and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

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