Police: 4 dead, 4 hurt in shooting on Chicago’s South Side

A woman receives a hug from a supporter outside the scene of a shooting outside a home in Chicago, Tuesday, June 15, 2021. Police say an argument at a house on Chicago's South Side erupted in fatal gunfire, leaving some dead and others injured. (Ashlee Rezin Garcia /Chicago Sun-Times via AP)

A woman receives a hug from a supporter outside the scene of a shooting outside a home in Chicago, Tuesday, June 15, 2021. Police say an argument at a house on Chicago's South Side erupted in fatal gunfire, leaving some dead and others injured. (Ashlee Rezin Garcia /Chicago Sun-Times via AP)

CHICAGO, June 15 (AP) — An argument in a house on Chicago’s South Side erupted into gunfire early Tuesday, leaving four women dead and four other people injured, police said.

The shooting happened at 5:42 a.m. in the Englewood neighborhood, police said. No one has been arrested. Police provided few details about the victims, but it appeared that none of them were juveniles.

Detectives were still trying to determine if there was more than one shooter and said they were trying to track down witnesses, police spokesman Tom Ahern said. A child was removed safely from the house and placed in protective custody, he said.

Authorities did not immediately release the identities and ages of the women who died.

The four injured included two men who were shot in the back of the head. Police were unable to provide information on their conditions. A 23-year-old man who was shot in the back and a woman who suffered an unspecified gunshot wound were both in critical condition, police said.

The shooting comes a few days after a woman was killed and nine other people were injured when two men opened fire on a group standing on a sidewalk in Chatham, also on the city’s South Side. Police said no one has been arrested in that shooting. Several mass shootings over the weekend stoked concerns about a spike in U.S. gun violence heading into the summer, as coronavirus restrictions ease and more people are free to socialize.

A database compiled by The Associated Press, USA Today and Northeastern University that tracks mass killings — defined as four or more dead, not including the perpetrator — shows Tuesday’s shooting in Chicago is the 18th mass killing, of which 17 were shootings, so far this year in the U.S.

Englewood has long been one of the most violent communities in Chicago, and the city has experienced more homicides this year compared with the same period last year. There were 282 homicides in Chicago as of June 13, compared with 269 during the same period last year.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot told reporters that the city needs federal to help combat violence and said the White House had reached out to offer assistance Tuesday morning.

“We must acknowledge this for what it is — a tragedy that’s ripped apart families and inflicted intense trauma,” Lightfoot said.