'Heartbroken and Outraged': Cousin of Mayor, Aspiring Nurse Among 3 Killed in Gary, Ind., Shooting

A person of interest has been taken into custody, according to reports

Ashanti Brown, Marquise Hall, Laurance Magnum. Photo: Facebook (3)

One of the three people killed early Tuesday morning during a July 4th block party in Gary, Ind., was a cousin of the city's mayor, PEOPLE learns.

In a statement, Mayor Jerome Prince says his family is "heartbroken and outraged" by his relative Marquise Hall's killing.

"Obviously, this hits close to home," Prince said in his statement. "However, we're also angry and frustrated at the fact we continue to lose Gary residents to needless violence, including young people gunned down before they even reach adulthood. I never stop thinking about the victims and their families and the incredible losses these senseless deaths leave."

Hall was 26.

Two other people were killed during the shooting: Ashanti Brown, 20, of Olympia Fields, Ill., and Laurence Mangum, 25, from Merrillville, Ind. Ten additional people suffered injuries.

The Omaha World-Herald reports police have detained a person of interest in the shooting. However, that individual has not been formally identified or charged with any crime.

Prince told Gary residents, "Public safety remains my top priority." He said officials were committed "to doing everything in our power to prevent and reduce gun violence, including investing in anti-violence initiatives that focus on violence intervention and violence prevention for our younger residents."

According to the Northwest Indiana Times, Magnum was visiting childhood friends when the shooting unfolded, his cousin, Andre Cobb, said.

Pastor Staci Bennett told the paper that Mangum's passion in life was drumming, and that he played regularly during services at several area churches, including Fresh Oil Ministries in East Chicago.

"He was very well known in the church community," Bennett said, noting she had only just seen him at church days before the shooting.

Brown's mother, Monek Turner, spoke to FOX 32 in Chicago, telling the station her daughter had aspirations of becoming a nurse, and wanted to one day open her own medical clinic.

Turner said that Brown had just completed her pharmacy tech certification, and was weeks away from beginning clinical training.

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The shooting began at approximately 12:46 a.m. on Tuesday.

Police have not said what may have motivated the fatal violence.

Anyone with any information about this shooting is asked to contact the Metro Homicide Unit at 219-755-3855 or the Crime Tip Line at 866-CRIME-GP.