Gary mayor: Cousin was among 3 people fatally shot at party

GARY, Ind. (AP) - Gary's mayor said his family is 'œheartbroken" by the news that a relative was among three people fatally shot during a July Fourth block party in the northwestern Indiana city.

Mayor Jerome Prince said Wednesday that his cousin, Marquise Hall, 26, of Lafayette, was fatally wounded in Tuesday's shooting, along with Laurence Mangum, 25, of Merrillville, and Ashanti Brown, 20, of Olympia Fields, Illinois.

'œOur family is heartbroken and outraged at this loss,'ť Prince said of Hall's death. 'œObviously, this hits close to home.'ť

Police said seven other people were wounded in the shooting, which remains under investigation by the Lake County/Gary Metro Homicide Unit, The (Northwest Indiana) Times reported.

The shooting happened about 12:45 a.m. Tuesday during a Independence Day block party in a residential neighborhood of Gary. Police officers arrived to find the three shooting victims unresponsive.

Merrillville resident Andre P. Cobb, who is one of Magnum's cousins, said it was his understanding that his cousin was hanging out with childhood friends when the shooting occurred.

'œI just want to know why," Cobb said.