TINLEY PARK, Ill. (AP) — A father in Tinley Park, Illinois has been charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of his three daughters and wife inside their family home. Maher Kassem, 63, was charged with four counts of first-degree murder, according to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office. Prosecutors stated that an argument led to Kassem using two guns to first shoot his wife and then, after stepping over her body, his three daughters.
The victims were identified as Majeda Kassem, 53; twins Halema Kassem, 25, and Hanan Kassem, 24; and Zahia Kassem, 25. Officials said Kassem shot his wife, Majeda, seven times, and each daughter was shot twice. The women’s bodies were found in the basement. Kassem was cooperative with police and admitted to the shooting, indicating that the fight started over the family’s finances.
The tragic incident unfolded after an argument on Sunday morning between the father and one of his daughters, prompting his wife and two other daughters to get involved and urge him to calm down. Amid all the yelling, the son, who was sleeping at the time, woke up and went to see what was going on. He later found his mother and two of his sisters fatally shot and witnessed his father shooting the third daughter.
The family’s 19-year-old son, who was in the home at the time of the shooting, was not physically injured. Village Manager Pat Carr said that Kassem made a 911 call saying someone was shot in the residence, and police found his wife and four daughters dead at the scene. Funeral services for the women were held Tuesday night, with mourners gathering for a vigil in honor of the four women who were killed in what police called a senseless act of domestic violence.
Kassem will be due back in court on Feb. 16 to face the charges of first-degree murder. The tragic incident has left the community in shock, with friends and classmates expressing their disbelief and sadness over the senseless loss. The investigation is ongoing as the community seeks to make sense of the devastating event.