Mom, Two Daughters Shot In Hammond
(CBS) -- An attempt to buy a cell phone might have led to the shootings of a woman and her two daughters in Hammond, Indiana.
CBS 2's Jim Williams reports it happened Sunday morning as a 41-year-old woman from Addison, Illinois, drove in an area of Hammond which local residents said has seen trouble lately.
The victims were in their family car when a neighbor, who asked not to be identified, noticed the driver headed the wrong way on Morris Street, a one-way street in Hammond.
"The woman went unconscious, and she started driving through the middle of the intersection on Calumet Avenue until her daughter stopped the car," the witness said.
The woman and her daughters had been shot in an alley two blocks away.
"It looked as if the woman's wrist was about to come off. She had a big hole in her chest. … Both of the daughters were … they both were 'linked' over and crying because of their gunshots," the witness said.
That witness called 911 and waited with the victims.
Police said the mother might have arranged to buy a cell phone nearby, perhaps making the appointment on social media.
"I heard about 10 gunshots this morning," neighbor Ed Smith said.
Smith said there's been increase in shootings in the community, but the timing of the latest gunfire was surprising.
"Sunday morning, 11 o'clock? That's pretty disturbing," he said. "It makes me nervous. You know, it makes me afraid, but at the same time I like my neighborhood, and I would hate for someone to run me out because they're doing what they're doing."
The daughters – ages 15 and 12 – were airlifted to a hospital in Chicago. The three victims' conditions were not available late Sunday night.
Police were searching for two suspects.
