The shocking slaughter of a mother and her three adult daughters in an affluent Chicago suburb was a “stark reminder of how quickly domestic violence can escalate,” the local mayor said Monday.
Mom Majeda Kassem, 59, and her daughters Halema Kassem, 25, Zahia Kassem, 25, and Hanan Kassem, 24, were all found shot to death at their home in Tinley Park after a 911 call early Sunday.
The affluent village was voted one of America’s safest communities by 24/7 Wall Street in 2020.
The husband and dad of the slain women — who was not identified — was taken into custody “without incident” after a gun was recovered at the scene, officials said at a press conference Monday. He was not identified.
Charges were pending, but details were scant to avoid jeopardizing the active investigation, officials said.
“Words can’t describe how deeply saddened I am at this horrible tragedy,” said Mayor Michael Glotz.
“A mother and her three daughters are gone, murdered in an act of senseless tragedy.
“This is a difficult day and a stark reminder of how quickly domestic violence can escalate.”
Village manager Pat Carr called it “a very traumatic scene for everybody involved.”
“Our focus is on the family and first responders,” Carr said of mental health care being made available for surviving family members and first responders.
The alarm had been raised by a 911 call from inside the house, officials said earlier.
Interim Police Chief Thomas Tilton would not confirm if it was the suspect himself who called 911, saying that investigators “want to make sure that we dot all our i’s and cross all our t’s” before the details of the rampage were revealed.
A neighbor told ABC 7 Sunday that the victims and alleged killer were “such a good family that had a bright future.”
“My daughter knows them,” Charlotte Vaitkus reportedly said. “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.”
Tinley Park is an affluent village of about 55,000 with a low violent crime rate situated 30 miles south of Chicago’s Loop.