Two women shot, killed in west Chicago suburb; baby also may have been shot
CICERO, Ill. (CBS) -- Two women were shot and killed in a domestic dispute in Cicero last night – and in an alarming twist, it seems somehow that no one realized until the next day that a baby was shot as well.
Cicero police Supt. Thomas Boyle said Wednesday afternoon that at 7:42 p.m. Tuesday, officers were called for a shooting in the 1800 block of 48th Court. Upon arriving, officers were met with a chaotic scene – with 14 people in one house, including men, women, and several children, Boyle said.
Many people in the house were screaming and running around, Boyle said.
Responding officers determined that they needed to go to the basement, where they were directed by two men to two different basement rooms, Boyle said. In those basement rooms, the officers found two women who had been shot, Boyle said.
Paramedics rushed to the scene and took the women to Mount Sinai Hospital, where they both died, Boyle said. They were identified by the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office as Jessica Hughes, 29, and Myeshia Newby, 19.
Meanwhile, officers evacuated the house for the protection of everyone there, Boyle said. A neighbor down the street let the people from the house in, Boyle said.
Police quickly identified a suspect, Rafael Vega, who had had a relationship with Newby, Boyle said.
Police repeatedly inquired as to whether anyone else was injured, and also made sure some seniors who had been at the scene received adequate medical care, Boyle said.
Around 5:55 a.m., police learned that a man was dead of a gunshot wound to the head in a park at 18th Street and 56th Court in Cicero, Boyle said. The gunshot was described earlier as self-inflicted.
Preliminarily, it is believed this man was suspect Vega, but he has not been officially identified, Boyle said.
Officers also learned after the shooting that a 10-month-old boy had been in the basement at the time the two women were shot, Boyle said. They located the boy's grandmother, who said he was not injured and was fine, Boyle said.
But at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, police learned the 10-month-old had been injured after all – and was taken to St. Anthony Hospital by his grandmother.
The grandmother said the child was playing normally with no signs of injury at first, but she noticed he had a little bit of a scratch and a little bit of fluid on his abdomen Wednesday morning, Boyle said. The baby was also acting "fussy," the grandmother told police.
The baby – who was the son of victim Newby – was later transferred to the University of Chicago's Comer Children's Hospital. He had suffered from an injury that was consistent with a gunshot wound, and was stabilized, Boyle said.
While Boyle did not specify what was believed to have happened for the child to be shot, an officer on scanner audio said, "The mother of the child was killed while she was holding the baby, and they apparently didn't realize the baby was shot at the time."
The shooting appears to be domestic and is believed to be an isolated incident, Boyle said.
It was not believed that a party was going on at the time of the shooting, Boyle said. It was also unclear as to whether everyone found at the house after the shooting lived there.
Neighbor America Pantoja said the victims had just celebrated New Year's. She told CBS 2 multiple families were living inside the home where the shooting took place, and at least 10 kids were inside when shots were fired.
"We were walking over to our car and we heard too large bangs. Jazzy, one of my daughter's friends, comes out and starts screaming, 'America, America, come up. He killed my mom,'" neighbor America Pantoja said. "More heartbreak than anything for the kids. Just a kid seeing their mom had to be laid out on the bed, just sucks."
The murder of the two women, the self-inflicted gunshot wound that killed the man believed to be their suspected killer, and the baby's possible gunshot wound are all being investigated separately.
"We have three separate scenes that we are working through; three separate investigations," Boyle said. "From all appearances, they appear to be related."
Family did not want to make a comment Tuesday.
