CHICAGO _ Eight people were killed _ including six children _ in a fire early Sunday morning in Little Village on the West Side, officials said.
A teenager and a young adult were taken to hospitals in very critical condition, and a firefighter was hospitalized in good condition.
As the sun rose and broke through hazy clouds, a large crowd gathered outside Mount Sinai Hospital, where some of the victims were taken. They were quiet and pacing until they received word of the fatalities.
The family and friends gripped each other and cried. A little boy crouched on the ground and buried his head in his hands. A woman staggered and grabbed the cement wall of the hospital for support.
"I can't live without my babies," a woman cried.
Hours later, it was still unclear how the fire started.
Nearby, men cried, women held onto the hands of children and neighbors watched from across the street as Jessie Cobos said he lost three children in the fire.
"We're asking God to protect us, and he'll heal our hearts," Cobos said. "We've got to love each other today because tomorrow is not promised."
The Rev. Clifford Spears of St. Michael Missionary Baptist Church led the crowd in a prayer as candles were lit and lined up along the sidewalk. A man hammered a wooden cross into the ground. Written in marker on its center board were six names: Giovanni, Gialanni, Alanni, Ariel, Xavier and Cesar.
Cobos said he was the father of Giovanni, 10, Gialanni, 5, and Alanni, 3.
"I got a phone call stating that there was a fire on this block and the pastor wanted me to come pray for the family," he said. "I never knew I was going to come pray for my own kids."
Firefighters were called just before 4 a.m., Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Merritt said. The fire enveloped at least two buildings, including a coach house.
Those killed and injured were all found in the same residence, Merritt said. He said investigators had not found working smoke detectors.
The homes were just south of a main business corridor populated with restaurants and shops.
