Romeoville police released two of four people they were questioning Thursday evening in relation to the shooting of a mother and daughter that morning.

Romeoville Police Chief Mark Turvey said the four people being questioned range in age from their late teens to their early 20s.

A 23-year-old man and another man remained in police custody and no charges have been filed.

Turvey said investigators have not yet determined a motive for the shooting of a 33-year-old woman and her 15-year-old daughter in an SUV as they were leaving for school.

The shooting took place on the 300 block of Emery Avenue. The mother and daughter had just left their home and were sitting in an SUV in their driveway at approximately 7 a.m. on Thursday when a suspect walked up to their vehicle and opened fire.

“It was point blank. They were in the car and he shot through passenger side, first the daughter then the mother. Then he fled,” Turvey said.

Police say the 15-year-old girl was shot in the head and her 33-year-old mother was shot in the neck.

Neighbors Brian Corban heard the gun shots and ran outside in time to see the mother get out of the SUV.

“She was bleeding around the chest and neck,” Corban said.

“We went around to other side and tried to get the daughter up. She wasn’t looking good,” he added.

The shooter, described as a short male, was last seen running west along 135th Street.

Both victims were rushed to a Bolingbrook hospital and later transported to Loyola Hospital.

Turvey said the gunman specifically targeted the women and that shootings are rare in Romeoville.

The shooting prompted a two-hour “soft” lockdown at schools in the immediate area. School officials initially told parents to send their children to school while police conducted a search immediately following the shooting. Officials then told parents to keep their children at home until the lockdown was lifted.

Anyone with information related to the crime is asked to contact the Romeoville Police Department at 815-886-7219 or an anonymous tip line at 815-328-5205.

Image via Wikimedia Commons