A 10-month-old boy who was shot and wounded in a double slaying in Cicero on Tuesday night is in serious-to-critical condition. His mother and a relative were killed.
“About 11 a.m. [Wednesday], Chicago fire did a transfer of a pediatric patient from St. Anthony’s Hospital to Comer Children’s Hospital,” Chicago Fire department spokesman Larry Langford said. “The baby is in serious-to-critical condition, suffering from a gunshot wound.”
It’s a “traumatic injury,” Langford added.
The baby’s mother, Myeshia Newby, 19, was killed Tuesday in the 1800 block of South 48th Court after an argument broke out with the child’s father, Rafael Vega, 21, said Cicero Police Supt. Thomas Boyle.
Newby’s great-grandfather, Mitchell Benton, said he was in the basement of the home about 7:45 p.m. when he heard Newby arguing with Vega. Benton’s daughter and Newby’s great-aunt, Jessica Hughes, 29, was also in the room at the time and was fatally shot.
“The next thing I know, he just started shooting,” Benton said.
Vega shot Newby first, then went after Hughes as she tried to run away with the baby, Benton told the Sun-Times.
Both Hughes and Newby were pronounced dead at Mount Sinai Hospital.
At the time of the shooting, the baby’s grandmother told officers that the child was unhurt. However, about 10 a.m. Wednesday she noticed a scratch and some fluid in his abdomen and brought him to St. Anthony’s Hospital, Boyle said.
Doctors determined that the child had been shot, and he was transferred to Comer Children’s Hospital, Boyle said.
“The baby was given to the grandmother who was there,” Cicero spokesman Ray Hanania said. “At the time the baby looked in great shape. There didn’t seem to be any problems. It’s terrible, the whole circumstances of this are terrible.”
About 5 a.m. Wednesday, police found the body of a man with a self-inflicted gunshot wound near the scene of the double slaying. He has not been officially identified, but he appeared to fit Vega’s description, Boyle said.
Benton said he tried to hold Vega at the scene, but the suspect eventually fled.
“When I heard the shots, I ran away around out of the laundry room ... and [Hughes] fell right at my feet, and he tried to come around us to get through the door,” Benton said. “I’m not a young man. I’m 75 years old. I did what I could until I ran out of breath.”
Hughes lived in the home where the shooting occurred with Benton and multiple generations of the family.
Both women were hardworking young mothers, Benton said — Hughes with a 12-year-old daughter and Newby with her 10-month-old son.
Benton said he will now look after Hughes’ daughter.
“Her daughter was just coming in to talk to me,” Benton said. “She said, ‘I know my momma’s gone, and there’s nothing I can do about it.’ I told her, ‘We got her.’”
According to Boyle, Vega had a criminal history.
The circumstances that led to the shooting are under investigation.
