In an apparent jealous rage, a man allegedly hurled two Molotov cocktails into an Austin neighborhood home, igniting a fire early Thursday that left four people including a 5-year-old and a beloved newspaper editor dead, officials said.
West Side Ald. Emma Mitts (37th), whose ward includes the fire scene, flatly declared the fire an “arson.” Mitts told the Sun-Times it was triggered by “domestic violence” between a “young man and his girlfriend or ex-girlfriend.”
“They had been arguing earlier and, the next thing you know, he was there at the building throwing a Molotov cocktail in the front, then one at the back door,” Mitts said.
“He threw the first one, then another one. So they were trapped. They never had a chance except to come out through the windows. That’s why they say they were jumping out of windows.”
Mitts said she has seen many tragedies in her 25 years as alderperson and even more in the 69 years she has been alive. But, she has never seen a more gut-wrenching or horrific tragedy as the fire caused by a distraught man who, she said, decided to “throw Molotov cocktails into a building where a bunch of folks were.”
“It’s something that could have been avoided. I don’t know what goes through peoples’ head. They should be locked up and the key thrown away behind all of that,” Mitts said.
Chicago Police are following leads but have no suspect in custody yet.
“They know who he is and they’re looking for him. They’ve got some intel on where he’s at,” Mitts said.
A fourth unidentified person, an adult, was recovered Friday among the remains of the blaze, at 5222 W. North Ave., according to fire department spokesman Larry Langford.
That victim had been unaccounted for on Thursday.
CFD Office of Fire Investigation reports an additional victim from the 3-11 fire on Chicago avenue has been located in the structure. CFD thanks the Cook County Sheriff for the services of a K9 trained for such searches. (Langford)
— Chicago Fire Media (@CFDMedia) June 27, 2025
A 5-year-old boy, a 32-year-old woman and a 76-year-old man also died in the fire, Chicago police said.
Their names are not being released because two victims’ next of kin have not yet been notified and the third and fourth remain unidentified, according to a spokesperson for the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
According to Mitts, one of the victims was Brad Cummings, a newspaper editor for The Voice Newspapers.
Mitts described Cummings as a “color-blind” community icon who worked tirelessly to make Austin a better place.
He not only served as publisher of one of Chicago’s oldest and most influential community newspapers. He provided information to police to help solve local crimes and assisted his local residents and community leaders in any way that he possibly could.
“Brad was white, but he was like a Black person. You’d get in room with him and he would talk like he was a Black person. Sometimes, we’d have to tell him, ‘Brad, you’re white. You’ve said enough.’ It was a joke,” Mitts said. “He never worried about colors. It didn’t mean nothing.”
Mitts said it’s impossible to underestimate the loss of such an indefatigable community anchor. It would be “felt by everybody” because there was “nobody who didn’t know” Brad Cummings or benefit from his outreach and good works, she said.
“Brad was someone who loved to work with folks. He loved doing things in the community. He was a very hard worker. I don’t know if he got any sleep with all the work that he would do,” she said.
“He would be up in the daytime trying to get a paper out. Going to events, covering events. He was knowledgeable about things going on in the community and sharing information,” she added.
A representative for The Voice could not immediately be reached for comment.
Just before 2 a.m., the Chicago Fire Department responded to heavy fire in the rear of a building at 5222 W. North Ave. which is commercial on the first floor and residential on the upper floors.
They called for more support — 12 ambulances in total — and rescued people from windows of the building, Langford said.
Four adults and two children, including a 4-year-old boy in critical condition, were initially taken to two nearby hospitals, Langford and police said.
Police said immediately as the fire got underway, two investigations were opened — a death investigation and aggravated arson.
Police did not release details about why they thought foul play was suspected.
The roof of the building was removed Thursday morning to help in searching for the then-unaccounted person. Fire officials suspended the search in the evening.
Check back for details on this developing story.