GARY, Ind. (WLS) — At least one person was killed in a shootout Friday night in northwest Indiana, according to family members.

Relatives identified the man who was shot and killed in front of his family in Gary, Indiana as Marcus Williams.

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The victim’s cousin told ABC7 it all unfolded when at least three suspects came on the street and opened fire. A shootout then ensued, leaving multiple people hit.

“I just heard gunshots when I sat on my bed, and then my boyfriend came in and told me that my cousin was laying on the ground,” said Judy Spencer, a cousin of the victim. “I walked up to him, calling his name, trying to get him to get up.”

Police lights and crime tape adorned the street where bullets pierced a relatively calm evening with kids playing outside, leaving multiple people hit by gunfire including Williams, a father, who was shot and killed in front of his relatives’ home in Gary, Indiana.

Loved ones were forced to watch helplessly as his life was ripped away.

“For what reason, I don’t know,” Spencer said. “And, I was right here and I couldn’t even protect him.”

Family members said it happened just after 5:30 p.m. Friday, outside a home near East 36th Avenue and Massachusetts Street, only a few blocks away from Indiana University Northwest. That’s when, Spencer says, at least three suspects ran up on the block and started shooting.

“They were on feet,” Spencer said. “They came from that way because he was sitting outside talking to his friend.”

Williams’ group, she said, then returned fire.

“My cousin was laying under the tree.one was right here by this black car, and one was on this corner,” Spencer said.

A fourth person injured in the shootout was one of her other cousins, Spencer said. She also said the two other people injured were part of the group who started firing shots.

Once the scene clears, the trauma for Williams’ family remains constant and fresh.

“I’ll never walk past that tree again,” Spencer said.

ABC7 Chicago has reached out to Gary Police for more information, but have not heard back. ABC7 is also waiting to learn the conditions of the other people shot.

So far, there’s no word of any arrests.