CHICAGO — Frank Mixon couldn’t believe what he was hearing when the sound of gunfire startled him awake. Outside his bedroom, he couldn’t believe what he was seeing: five family members shot, his mother among them.
“I just woke up and saw a massacre of everything,” Mixon said. “Very vivid to see everything.”
Hours after the early Independence Day morning shooting on the 7100 block of South Woodlawn Avenue, Mixon was beginning to process the loss of his mother, 46-year-old Nakeeshia Strong, and cousin, 24-year-old Caprice Edwards. His sibling and two cousins were left fighting for their lives.
“What kills me the most is that we were just together … talking about me going to another school for basketball on another scholarship,” Mixon said of his mother, whom he described as an “amazing woman.”
According to police, it was about 6:15 a.m. when two vehicles pulled up to the home, multiple people got out and began shooting. Family members said Edwards died while shielding her 1-year-old from the shooting.
The three children, all boys ages 5, 8, and 8, were critically injured and taken to Comer Children’s Hospital.
One of the 8-year-old boys later died from his injuries at the hospital, according to CPD.
Family members told WGN two of the children belong to Edwards. The 8-year-old is the child of Strong.
Several injured in separate shootings overnight in Chicago
A neighbor who heard the gunshots reported seeing several men in ski masks approach the home that was targeted.
“I saw two people jumping off the porch after looking out the window,” the unidentified neighbor said. “I thought it was fireworks.”
Multiple bullet holes were visible in the home’s front window. Police said casings from a rifle and a handgun were found outside. They believe the melee began with a “personal dispute.”
“We know it’s personal,” said Deputy Chief Don Jerome. “We don’t know what it’s about. We don’t know if it happened today or if it’s ongoing.”
Ald. Desmon Yancy (5th Ward) called the violence “senseless.”
“Personal conflict and guns has become a bad combination,” he said. “The summer is just getting started, and I don’t want to stand in front of another group of microphones and have another discussion about the pain that’s caused in our communities, this violence. This has to stop.”
Mayor Brandon Johnson in an evening statement expressed his condolences, adding that his office would continue to work with police, the alderman and victim service partners to help the community heal.
As the police investigation continued, there was no word of anyone in custody as of Thursday afternoon.
Community activist Rabbi Michael Ben Yosef has offered a $2,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the shooters. Tips may be made anonymously at CPDtip.com.
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