Two female police officers from Chicago and Cleveland among those killed in July 4 shootings

Two women at a Chicago home, a police officer serving an arrest warrant in Cleveland and a gunman making threats in Yellowstone National Park were among those killed in the July 4 shootings, historically one of the deadliest days of the year in the United States.

Violence and mass shootings often increase during the summer months, with more people gathering for social events, teenagers out of school and warmer temperatures.

Three boys, ages 8, 7 and 5, were also injured in Thursday's shooting in Chicago, which police said stemmed from a personal dispute. The women killed were ages 42 and 22.

Two vehicles pulled up in a neighborhood on the city's south side and several people got out and fired shots at the home, Deputy Chief Don Jerome said. Several shell casings from a rifle and a handgun were recovered at the scene, he said.

The slain Cleveland police officer has been identified as Jamieson Ritter. The 27-year-old officer was part of a team dispatched around 1 a.m. to serve a warrant on a man for felony assault, Police Chief Dorothy Todd said, according to local media reports. The man was seen running from the home and allegedly fired a gun multiple times, hitting the officer, Todd said.

Also Thursday in Yellowstone, gunfire was exchanged between a man who authorities said was making threats and park rangers.

The shooting occurred in Canyon Village, an area in the central part of the park that houses a campground, lodging and a visitor center, park officials said in a statement. The statement did not specify where the shots were fired or whether visitors were affected by what it called a “significant law enforcement incident” that began overnight.

The ranger was in stable condition in hospital, according to the statement, which did not specify how the ranger was injured.

A 13-year-old girl was fatally shot at a suburban Seattle mall Wednesday night after a fight broke out between two groups of teenagers and one of them fired a handgun, police in Lynnwood, Washington, said.

Jayda Woods-Johnson, who was killed, was a bystander who was not involved in the fight, police said.

Police said the teens fled the scene, but later that night a 16-year-old boy suspected of firing the gun was taken to police by his mother.

A year ago, a series of shootings around the Fourth of July left more than a dozen people dead and more than 60 injured. Two years ago, another mass shooting at a Fourth of July parade left seven people dead near Chicago.