A gunman was found dead after killing three relatives and setting the family’s suburban Chicago home on fire, according to police and reports.
The chaos erupted in the city of Oak Forest when the suspect fatally shot three of his family members outside their house just after 6:30 a.m., police said.
Two victims were found in the home’s driveway and a third was located in the road outside the home, cops said. The three were taken to an area hospital and pronounced dead.
Police said the suspect then barricaded himself inside the home. One person, described as a “juvenile,” fled the house and soon after the house went up in flames.
Responders extinguished the fire and police entered the home and found the suspect dead inside.
Later Friday afternoon, the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office identified the victims as 22-year-old Briana Rodriguez, 20-year-old Emilio Rodriguez, 43-year-old Lupe Gomez and 44-year-old Carlos Gomez, WLS reported. It’s unclear which of them was the shooter.
A next door neighbor’s doorbell camera, viewed by the outlet, captured video of the carnage.
The video reportedly shows a man open fire at three people outside the front of his home, while one runs away.
Shocked neighbors told WLS that the family had lived in the home for eight years. One neighbor described them as “a normal family” that “was dealing with some stuff and it came to that.”
Another neighbor said there had been lots of screaming and fighting coming from the house in recent weeks.
“We just kinda sat here and watch it unfold in disbelief,” neighbor Jake Bittner said. “It’s a hell of a way to wake up.”
Oak Forest High School, which was under partial lockdown for part of the day, canceled its homecoming parade Friday as the community reels from the devastating incident.
One of the surviving members of the incident is a student at the school, WLS reported. Two others that were killed were alumni of the high school, district officials confirmed.
