American police announced that they are searching for a young man suspected of shooting seven people dead in two homes in a suburb of Chicago in the northern United States.
Bill Evans, police chief of Joliet, a southwestern suburb of Chicago, said on Monday that "seven people were found shot to death."
He added, "We are looking for a suspect named Romeo Nance, 23 years old," who lives in the immediate vicinity of the two houses in which the bodies were found.
Police published photos of the suspect's car and its license plate, which is the same car wanted in other crimes that occurred on Sunday.
Mass shootings have become alarmingly common across the United States, with firearms being easier to purchase in most states and their number increasing per capita.
The number of individual weapons in the country exceeds the number of citizens, and one in three adults owns a firearm, and approximately 50 percent of adults live in a home that has a firearm.
The United States sends security personnel to Ecuador against the backdrop of unrest there
The White House announced that the United States will send FBI personnel to Ecuador to support local security services as unrest there escalates.
The White House said in a statement: “The United States announced that the FBI will increase its staff in Ecuador to support the Ecuadorian police , and the Department of the Interior will send personnel to help train local police.”
The White House also indicated that the United States will this week send 20,000 bullet-proof vests and important security equipment to Ecuador for about one million dollars.
US Presidential Advisor Christopher Dodd and Head of the Pentagon's Southern Command, Laura Richardson, met with Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa yesterday, Monday, "to show American support for the country after the escalation of violence."
US officials are scheduled to meet with other senior Ecuadorian officials on Tuesday, according to the statement.