CHICAGO (AFP) — Police said Sunday they were hunting a man who shot dead five women during a Chicago clothing store robbery that turned bloody, with one other person reported wounded.
"This incident appears to stem from an armed robbery attempt which was interrupted which led to the five murders," Tinley Park police chief Michael O'Connell told reporters on Sunday.
He identified the women, who were aged between 22 and 42.
The Chicago Tribune cited separate sources familiar with the investigation as saying a sixth person was shot but survived in the robbery Saturday morning at a shopping mall in Tinley Park, a booming suburb of the midwestern city.
Police earlier said the victims were found dead in the back room of the store, where the gunman had led them and killed them before fleeing from the strip mall where the store is located.
A statement distributed by police from the family of one of the victims, 22-year-old Sarah Szafranski, described the shooting as a "senseless act of violence."
Friends of the victims gathered outside the store on Sunday afternoon, praying and laying flowers.
There were no security cameras in the store, but police were looking at security video footage from stores and buildings in a 2.4 kilometer (1.5 mile) radius, police Sergeant TJ Grady told reporters on Saturday.
A witness who saw the shooter leave described the suspect to police as an African-American man about 1.7 meters (5 foot, 9 inches) tall.
"We have no idea who he is," Grady said.
He said police had used a helicopter with an infra-red sensor to scour the nearby snow-covered area and were working on a composite sketch.
The company that owns the Lane Bryant clothing store where the shooting happened offered a 50,000 dollar reward for information leading to an arrest.
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