PICTURED: Tinley Park twins Halema and Zahia Kassem, 25, who were ‘shot dead by their father’ along with mom and older sister
- Halema, Zahia, Hannan and Majeda Kassem were murdered at home on Sunday
- Police are questioning their father Maher, but he has yet to be charged
These are the 25-year-old twin sisters who, along with their mother and younger sister, were shot dead by their father in their home in Tinley Park, Chicago.
Halema and Zahia Kassem, 25, were murdered yesterday morning, along with their 53-year-old mother Majeda and 24-year-old sister Hanan.
Police are questioning their father, Maher Kassem, but have not yet filed charges.
Halema Kassem was a pharmacy student who ran a henna company that she promoted on social media.
Halema and Zahia Kassem, 25, were murdered yesterday in their Tinley Park home, along with their mother and younger sister
Zahia was a radiology student described by friends as “outspoken” and “lighthearted.”
Friends say the family were devout Muslims and Palestinian activists. Zahia, who also passed by Zee, had recently visited Mecca.
Their mother Majeda dedicated her life to ‘family and religion’, according to a fundraising site dedicated to completing a mosque in Mali in memory of the family.
Hanan, 24, was a speech therapy student, according to her friends.
‘She was always a helping hand and had her special way of making people feel like they belonged. She was always so thoughtful and considerate with her supportive words.
“Her heart had a special place for her family, and she will be greatly missed,” a friend said during the fundraiser for the mosque.
No details have been made public about their father, Maher, who remains in custody.
The family home in Tinley Park, near Chicago, was surrounded by police yesterday
A 911 call was made from the home where the shooting occurred, but by the time emergency responders arrived, the four women were dead.
Majeda is described as a ‘mother of six’. In addition to her four daughters, she also has two sons, who were unharmed.
The police were called to the house by the father on Sunday morning. He first told dispatchers that his wife “had been shot,” but did not immediately confess.
When officers arrived, they found him in the house with the women’s bodies.
His motive remains unclear.
Police say they had never been called to the home in the past. Neighbors were stunned by the quadruple murder.
After the shooting, detectives were on scene throughout the afternoon and evening