Family and friends are left stunned after a mass shooting at a gathering in Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood left four people dead and at least four others hurt early Tuesday morning.
One of the victims was identified Tuesday as Denice “Nici” Mathis, a mother of five who was attending the gathering in the 6200 block of South Morgan Tuesday morning when gunfire rang out.
“Denice was a good person. She laughed, and she loved living life,” the woman’s friend Michelle said.
Another woman, identified as 19-year-old Shermetria Williams, was also killed at the gathering. She was set to graduate high school on Tuesday, and she leaves behind a 2-year-old child.
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Tonight, her father called for an end to the gun violence that has gripped the city.
“Stop the violence. Put the guns down,” he said. “Resort to something else, because you’re killing innocent people.”
“She was my best friend,” Trent Berry, Williams’ brother, added. “It’s too much. I want my sister here so bad.”
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Family members say that Blake Lee was also one of the four victims killed. The Cook County Medical Examiner identified the fourth victim as Ratanya Aryiel Rogers, 28.
Police believe that an argument took place at the gathering, and shots were fired following the altercation.
In addition to the four victims who died, four others were hurt. A 41-year-old man was shot in the back of the head, and was taken to an area hospital. A 25-year-old man was also shot in the head, and his condition had stabilized. A 25-year-old woman and a 23-year-old man were also taken to area hospitals, where they were both listed in critical condition.
Police investigating the shooting recovered shell casings and a large-capacity drum magazine, but did not recover the weapon used in the shooting.
No suspects are in custody at this time, and Chicago police are continuing to investigate the shooting.
