A man suspected of killing his girlfriend, her father and her sister was found dead in a home on Chicago's Far South Side on Thursday after an hourslong standoff with police.
SWAT teams descended on the home, believed to be where 29-year-old Kevin Robinson was hiding, around 4 a.m. at 103rd Street and Union Avenue in the Fernwood neighborhood. People who were inside the home evacuated as first responders arrived.
The incident prompted a nearly 11-hour standoff involving numerous gunshots, the release of gas and several pleas from police and family members before SWAT officers found Robinson dead in the home from what they believe was a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Authorities said a weapon was recovered "from [Robinson's] hands" at the scene, but it was not immediately known if he suffered any gunshots wounds from police fire.
"The offender in this incident was an engine of violence and was no stranger to the criminal justice system," said Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson.
Police allege Robinson walked into a home Wednesday night just a few miles away, in neighboring Englewood, and killed his girlfriend, Makeesha Starks, and her father, Jerome Wright. He shot them in the head around 11:20 p.m. at a house in the 1500 block of West 71st Street, according to police.
Both Starks, 30, and Wright, 50, were pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
Starks' sister, 26-year-old Kiera Kinard, was shot in the back and died after being transported to Advocate Christ Medical Center.
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The triple homicide is believed to have unfolded both inside and outside the home, according to police. Wright’s body was found near a sidewalk on 71st Street, while a body of one of the women was discovered inside the home, police said.
Sources said the suspect fled in one of the victims' vehicles after the late-night shooting, and the vehicle was tracked to the location of the standoff early Thursday morning.
Little information was released on the standoff until shots were fired just before 9:30 a.m. by both the suspect and police.
Police said Robinson leaned out a window and fired multiple rounds at SWAT officers across the street. The officers returned fire.
"We did have a short conversation with him, he did answer a phone," said Deputy Chief Steve Georgas. "That conversation did not go anywhere. It was shortly after that where he appeared at the window and fired 10 to 12 shots at our officers."
Authorities said it was not known if the man was struck by gunfire, but he was able to run upstairs in the home after the shooting.
Just before 12:30 p.m., a succession of loud "pops" rang out, which authorities said were the release of a "less-lethal gas," followed by screams.
Police used a loudspeaker to encourage the man to come out of the home.
"No one is going to hurt you," police said. "We need for you to come out."
The suspect's mother was also heard over the loudspeaker saying, "I love you. Please come on out. I want to see you at home."
Robinson's family said they do not believe he fatally shot himself, and allege he was killed by police while trying to surrender.
Chicago police SWAT teams surrounded a murder suspected barricaded inside a home on the city’s Far South Side Thursday morning.
Around 4 a.m., dozens of police units descended on residence near 104th Street and Emerald Avenue. As of 8 a.m., officers were still on the scene appearing to be preparing to enter the home where a man connected to a triple homicide is believed to be hiding.
The man is suspected of murdering two women and a man in a domestic-related incident just a few miles away in neighboring Englewood Wednesday night.
Police say he arrived to a home in the 1500 block of West 71st Street around 11:20 p.m. before killing a 50-year-old man and 30-year-old woman with gunshot wounds to the head. Both were pronounced dead on arrival, authorities said.
Another victim, a 26-year-old woman, was shot in her back. She died after being transported to Advocate Christ Medical Center, police said.
The triple shooting is believed to have unfolded both inside and outside the home, according to police. The man’s body was found near a sidewalk on 71st Street, while one of the women was inside the home at the time of the shooting, police said.
Sources say the suspect likely fled in one of the victim’s vehicles after the shooting, which authorities may have tracked to the scene of the home near 104th Street and Emerald Avenue.
Check back for more on this developing story.
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Triple homicide leads to SWAT situation at Chicago home. Live from scene now on NBC 5 News
that.
the chicago police s.w.a.t. team was called to a home on the city's south side. it is unclear why they were called to the scene, but they may be searching for the suspect of an earlier double homicide. **police on the scene**
sot: no
trt: 4:22 min
[[ZORAIDA/EVS]]
BREAKING OVERNIGHT:
[[ZORAIDA/REMOTE 3]]
THERE'S A "SWAT" SITUATION HAPPENING RIGHT NOW AT 104th AND EMERALD ON CHICAGO'S SOUTH SIDE..
AND YOU'RE LOOKING AT A LIVE PICTURE FROM THE SCENE.
A SOURCE IS TELLING US IT'S CONNECTED TO A TRIPLE MURDER THAT HAPPENED LATE LAST NIGHT A FEW MILES AWAY IN ENGLEWOOD -- BUT AT THIS TIME, POLICE ARE "NOT" CONFIRMING THAT.
LET'S GO NOW TO NBC FIVE'S MICHELLE RELERFORD AT AREA SOUTH POLICE HEADQUARTERS FOR THE LATEST ON THAT SHOOTING...
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