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Police: 3 Christmas drive-by shootings in Aurora

Aurora police are investigating related drive-by shootings Christmas Day that left no one injured, though one of the targets included a car occupied by three young girls, police said in a news release.

The first two shootings happened in the 500 block of Gates Street and involved the same victims, police said.

About 9 p.m., a 29-year-old woman reported she was pulling into her driveway when a shooter fired from a white GMC Terrain with tinted windows, police said. The bullet apparently ricocheted off the car door and didn't penetrate the vehicle. The woman's daughters - ages 8, 10 and 12 - were in the car.

The 12-year-old was taken to an Aurora hospital after complaining of ear pain from the loud gunshot, police said.

An hour later, someone in a white GMC Terrain fired a shot through the front door of the woman's home, which was occupied by five men. No one was injured.

At 11:20 p.m., a 37-year-old woman said someone in a white Terrain fired at her vehicle as she was followed along several streets on the south and east sides, police said.

The woman told investigators she recognized an occupant of the vehicle as a relative with whom she'd recently had a disagreement, police said.

Shortly after the woman reported the shooting, an officer spotted a white Terrain near Galena Boulevard and Root Street, police said. When the officer tried to stop the vehicle the driver led police on a chase that ended with the Terrain skidding into a fence in the 400 block of North Farnsworth Avenue.

The male occupants - three 17-year-olds, a 19-year-old and 20-year-old - ran but were caught, police said.

The only firearm recovered was located in a vehicle in the 1100 block of Fourth Street, which was along the path the SUV had taken during the chase, police said.

The handgun was located in a minivan with a broken rear windshield. The minivan owner told investigators he didn't know the vehicle had a broken window until he was alerted by police. He did not own the handgun, police said.

No arrests have been made but the investigation continues, police said.

Anyone with information is asked to call (630) 256-5500.

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