A shooter killed Majeda Kassem, 53, and her daughters Halema Kassem, 25, Hanan Kassem, 24, and Zahia Kassem, 25, police said. (Screenshot: WLS)
Cops in a Chicago-area suburb are still searching for answers after a shooting in which a suspect allegedly shot a woman and her three adult daughters.
Though the Village of Tinley Park Public Safety called it a “domestic related shooting” on Facebook, Tinley Park Police Chief Tom Tilton declined to confirm reports in a press conference Monday that the suspect was husband to victim Majeda Kassem, 53, and the father to their daughters Halema Kassem, 25, Hanan Kassem, 24, and Zahia Kassem, 25.
Officers said the shooting came to their attention on Sunday.
“Police arrived at the home shortly before 11:30 a.m. after receiving a 911 call,” officers wrote. “Upon arriving, police found the women had been shot to death and took a man into custody in relation to the shooting. Police also recovered the gun used in the shooting.”
Tilton on Monday declined to go into a timeline of events, such as when the shooting would have happened in relation to the 911 call.
In keeping details from the public, he emphasized that prosecutors still had to press charges, the “complex” investigation was ongoing, and he did not want to interfere with any of that. Asked about a motivation, he said it would be speculation.
He declined to say where in the home the women were found, and only said the suspect was near the victims.
Officers arrested the person without incident, he said. Tilton declined to say if it was the suspect who called 911.
“My daughter knows them,” local woman Charlotte Vaitkus told ABC Chicago affiliate WLS. “She went to school with the oldest son, and she employed the twin sisters. She always talked about how they were all very intelligent, and they had very high goals in life.”
