Ladarius Edwards, 23, was fatally shot in the Ashburn neighborhood early Saturday. Reader "Ms. Luella" posted this about him:
Ladarius was a young man I have known for @ 7 years. He was always respectful in my present and a likable young man. My condolences to his family and friends. RIP..
Genorel Martin / Photo from Facebook
BY KALEY FOWLER
For Homicide Watch Chicago
Genorel Martin believed in seizing the moment -- so much so that he had the phrase “Carpe diem” tattooed on his back.
“He always saw the upside and he really was always optimistic,” said his girlfriend, Vyvyan Wesley. “He was always ready for new adventures and new challenges. ”
Martin, 24, was fatally shot Oct. 18 as he opened the door to his apartment building in the 6700 block of South Throop Street in Englewood, authorities said.
Martin was born and raised in Englewood and wanted to better the community, Wesley said.
“He was in a lot of trouble as a youth, did the jail thing and all of that, and his goal was to not see others end up on that path,” Wesley said. “Rebuilding our community was really important to him. He knew what it was like to be a product of that environment and always said, ‘I don’t want our brothers and sisters to go through those things.’ He wanted to let other people know there is another way.”
Wesley, 24, described Martin as an intelligent person who loved to read and write. He especially enjoyed reading The Holy Bible and the works of authors Cornell West and Robert Green, she said.
Martin was clever with words and enjoyed writing poetry and freestyle rapping, Wesley said.
His favorite rapper was Tupac Shakur, whose intellect he idolized, Wesley said.
Prior to the shooting, Wesley and Martin discussed getting married, she said.
“Looking back, it’s almost as if he knew, even though he didn’t. He said, ‘Vyv, I love you so much you mean the world to me I can’t wait for us to take the next step in our lives,’" Wesley said. "I’m grateful that he left me on that note rather than us arguing or not speaking to each other. I’m grateful that we had that chance to say our last ‘I love yous’ -- a lot of people don’t get that.”
Nobody has been charged for the murder. Area South detectives are investigating.
Tavache Kizer / Photo from Cook County Crime Stoppers
Relatives of a local rapper who was fatally shot in the South Shore neighborhood last year will gather Saturday to pass out flyers asking for leads in the case.
Tavache Kizer, who rapped under the name “Trife,” was shot Oct. 7, 2013, when he stopped to have a mechanic fix his car in the 7300 block of South Dorchester Avenue, according to Cook County Crime Stoppers.
Authorities said two people walked up and shot him in the head, authorities. Kizer, 38, of the 7600 block of South Phillips Avenue, died at Northwestern Memorial Hospital the next day.
Kizer's brother, Larry “Shaciaren” Kizer, told the Sun-Times his brother wanted to create a positive vibe with his music, and the brothers created the nonprofit “Royalt2y” to reach young people.
“My brother understood that hip-hop is one of the most influential tools in America. ‘The power of life and death is in the tongue,’ he used to say, quoting Scripture,” Larry Kizer said.
Before being killed, Tavache Kizer was working with his brother to edit his new video “Respect the Youth,” a song dedicated to young people killed in gun violence.
“It was ironic that the last thing he wanted in that video were scenes of emptiness — empty playgrounds, basketball courts, swings and school hallways. Now, he has become a victim of the violence,” Larry Kizer said.
Tavache Kizer’s family will distribute flyers Saturday morning near the 7500 block of South Dorchester Avenue and will ask anyone with information to come forward, according to Cook County Crime Stoppers.
Anyone can leave an anonymous tip at the Crime Stoppers hotline at (800) 535-7867 or text a tip to 27637 along with the word CPD. Callers can receive a $1,000 cash reward for information leading to an arrest.
-- Sun-Times Media Wire
A 15-year-old boy was killed in a Chicago Lawn shooting that left another person wounded Friday afternoon.
Jahkel Clark was shot in the head in the 3100 block of West 64th Street about 3:30 p.m. and died at the scene, authorities said. His home address was not released Friday night.
Another boy was shot in the leg and taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, police said.
Nobody has been charged for the murder.
Area Central detectives are investigating.
-- Sun-Times Media Wire
Joshua Rockett was found shot to death in the Washington Heights community Friday night.
Police found Joshua Rockett, 21, shot in the back in the 9000 block of South Laflin Street about 7:35 p.m. Friday, authorities said.
Rockett, of the 9200 block of South Wallace Street, died at the scene, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.
Nobody has been charged for the murder.
Area South detectives are investigating.
-- Sun-Times Media Wire
Scene where Nadia Ezaldein was fatally shot / Photo by Eric Clark
BY TINA SFONDELES AND BECKY SCHLIKERMAN
Chicago Sun-Times
A high-achieving University of Chicago student was fatally shot by her ex-boyfriend as she worked at a Downtown department store on Black Friday.
Nadia Ezaldein, 22, had been physically and mentally abused by Marcus Dee, 31, even after they broke up a year ago, relatives said.
And on Friday night -- on one of the busiest shopping days of the year -- Dee walked into the accessories department at the Nordstrom at 55 E. Grand Ave., “exchanged words” with Ezaldein and shot her, authorities say.
Dee, who hit Ezaldein in the head or neck, then turned his gun on himself. He died inside the store.
It was her birthday Friday, they said.
“It was like months and months of psychological torment,” Ezaldein’s brother said of his sister’s rocky relationship with Dee. “I would say there was a lot of emotionally traumatizing phrases and words.”
Ezaldein’s sister -- who like her brother asked not to be named -- said Ezaldein dated Dee from August 2012 until she broke up with him in December 2013. Dee continued to abuse her sister after that, she said.
He’d call and threaten to hurt or kill himself, forcing Ezaldein to change her phone number several times, she said.
“He called the entire family, consistently texting,” the sister said. “He Googled my entire family.”
Dee went as far as attempting to file a restraining order against Ezaldein’s sister, court records show. The next day, the sister responded in kind. But Cook County judges denied both petitions.
Family members remembered Ezaldein, who grew up in Florida, as a bright young woman who graduated from a Fort Lauderdale high school at the age of 16.
She received a scholarship from a foundation in South Florida because she had the most community service hours of her entire graduating class, said Carol Zeber, of the group Quota International of Fort Lauderdale.
Ezaldein’s high school college advisor described Ezaldein as a soft-spoken honor student who was wise beyond her years.
“She had understanding of the world and was very articulate and had a nice sense of humor,” Susan O’Day said.
Ezaldein was studying law at the University of Chicago, while also working at Nordstrom to support herself, her family said. Police said Ezaldein was a seasonal worker.
The university confirmed Ezaldein had been previously enrolled at the school, but said that she was not enrolled for the fall semester.
Dee’s family could not be reached, but a police source said he is the son of Chicago Police officers.
Nordstrom was closed Saturday. A sign posted the store said “Due to the tragic situation that occurred in our store yesterday, our store is closed today, Saturday, November 29th.”
Shoppers were stunned to find out about the shooting.
“Wow — You would never think it would happen here,” Rashmi Sridharan, 29, said. “It’s very sad.”
The tragedy turned what the Ezaldein family had hoped would be a weekend of celebration to intense mourning.
Ezaldein’s sister had come to town to celebrate Ezaldein’s birthday.
“I came here on Thursday to surprise her,” she said. “And then she had to go to work on her birthday.
“I was waiting for her but she never came home.”
Oscar Garcia was fatally shot in the Little Village neighborhood Friday night.
Garcia, 18, was standing in the street about in the 2500 block of South Central Park Avenue when another male walked up, yelled gang slogans and opened fire 11 p.m. Friday, authorities said.
Garcia, of the 2800 block of South Millard Avenue, was shot near his right eye and died at the scene, authorities said.
Nobody has been charged for the murder.
Area Central detectives are investigating.
-- Sun-Times Media Wire
Police investigate scene where Leroy Stinson was shot / Photo from NVP
A 50-year-old man has died after being struck by a bullet that went through a bedroom window Tuesday night at his Back of the Yards home.
Leroy Stinson was in a second-floor bedroom at his home in the 2100 block of West Garfield Boulevard when shots were fired outside about 10:50 p.m. Tuesday, authorities said.
One of the bullets came through the bedroom window and struck Stinson in he head, authorities said.
Stinson was initially taken to John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County and later transferred to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, where he died at 11:53 p.m. on Thursday, authorities said.
A Sunday autopsy ruled Stinson's death a homicide, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.
Nobody has been charged for the murder.
Area Central detectives are investigating.
-- Sun-Times Media Wire
Darnell Williams was fatally shot in the Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood Sunday afternoon.
Williams, 22, was found shot in the back in the 7200 block of South Vincennes Avenue about 3:10 p.m Sunday, authorities said.
Williams, of the 600 block of West Cermak Road, died at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn at 5:23 p.m. Sunday, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.
Nobody has been charged for the murder.
Area South detectives are investigating if the shooting is gang related.
BY MICHAEL LANSU
Homicide Watch Chicago Editor
The city began the week with its longest murder-free stretch of the year, but the week ended with six people dying from gunshot wounds over the Thanksgiving weekend.
Four people were fatally shot on Black Friday -- the busiest shopping day of the year. At least 15 other people were wounded by gunfire over the four-day weekend, police said.
The most recent killing happened when police found 22-year-old Darnell Williams shot in the back in the 7200 block of South Vincennes Avenue in the Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood about 3:10 p.m., police said.
Williams, of the 600 block of West Cermack Road, died about two hours later at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office, which has not yet released his name.
On Friday, 22-year-old Nordstrom employee Nadia Ezaldein was shot inside the store near East Grand and North Michigan Avenues about 8:30 p.m. Friday, authorities said.
Ezaldein's ex-boyfriend, 31-year-old Marcus Dee, walked into the accessories department where Ezaldein was a season worker, the two “exchanged words” then he shot her, authorities say.
Ezaledin, a student at the University of Chicago, died the next day at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, her family said.
In the Little Village neighborhood, 18-year-old Oscar Garcia was standing in the 2500 block of South Central Park Avenue when he was shot in the head about 11 p.m. Friday, authorities said.
Garcia, of the 2800 block of South Millard Avenue, died at the scene, according to the medical examiner's office.
In the Washington Heights community, police found 21-year-old Joshua Rockett shot in the back in the 9000 block of South Laflin Street about 7:35 p.m. Friday, authorities said.
Rockett, of the 9200 block of South Wallace Street, died at the scene, according to the medical examiner’s office.
In the Chicago Lawn community, 15-year-old Jahakel Clark was shot in the head in the 3100 block of West 64th Street about 3:30 p.m. and died at the scene, authorities said. Two other boys, 14 and 16, were wounded but survived, police said.
The killing started when a bullet came through the window of Leroy Stinson's home in the 2100 block of West Garfield Boulevard in the Back of the Yards community and struck him in the head about 10:50 p.m. Tuesday, authorities said.
Stinson, 50, died at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood about 11:50 p.m. Thursday, according to the medical examiner's office.
Stinson was the first person killed in Chicago since early Nov. 22. Based on time of death, it is the longest murder-free stretch in the city this year, just hours longer than a stretch Feb. 15-20.
Overall, the medical examiner’s office has ruled at least 405 Chicago deaths in 2014 a homicide — including 14 people killed by police.
Chicago Police, which counts murders different by following federal guidelines, have ruled some of those homicides as involuntary manslaughter, justified self-defense or accidents.
Jaynisha Schaffer / Photo from Facebook
A teenage boy was ordered held without bond Monday after authorities said he fatally shot Jaynisha Schaffer in the Chicago Lawn neighborhood in July.
Schaffer, 19, was walking with a group in the 2200 block of West 69th Street when 17-year-old Billy Howard rode up on a bicycle and opened fire about 7:05 p.m. July 7, authorities said.
Schaffer, of the 7600 block of South Paulina Street, was shot in the back and died hours later at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, authorities said.
Schaffer was a sophomore at Kennedy-King College, where she was studying architecture, her family said. She chose architecture because she loved to draw.
“She was an excellent drawer. If you stood still long enough she could draw you,” said a family member, who asked not to be named.
Haywood, 17, was charged with first-degree murder and Judge Laura Sullivan ordered him without bond Monday, authorities said. He will be back in court Dec. 19.
-- Sun-Times Media Wire, Homicide Watch Chicago
BY MICHAEL LANSU
Homicide Watch Chicago
Chicago Police reported nine more murders last month compared to November 2013, yet killings remain down 3.5 percent compared to last year.
Police reported 38 November murders, a 31 percent increase from the 29 murders in November 2013. The November 2014 murder total is more in line with 2011 and 2012, when 37 and 39 people were killed in the month.
For the year, Chicago Police, which follows federal guidelines in how it counts murders, reported 369 killings through the first 11 months of the year.
The Cook County medical examiner's office, which counts slayings differently, have reported 406 homicides, including 14 people fatally shot by police officers.
“With one month remaining in 2014 we have had the fewest amount of murders since 1965, but there’s much more work to be done and no one will rest until everyone in Chicago enjoys the same sense of safety," said Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy.
Police spokesman Martin Maloney also noted that the first 11 months of 2014 had 13 fewer murders compared to the same time period in 2013, and 106 fewer than the first 11 months of 2012.
In November, shooting incidents and shooting victims followed the same trend as murders compared to November 2013.
Police reported 138 shooting incidents in November 2014, a 23 percent increase from the 112 shooting incidents in November 2013. There were 128 shooting incidents in November 2011 and 193 in November 2012.
For the year, police reported 1,885 shooting incidents, a 10 percent increase from the 1,714 through November 2013. There were 2,045 shooting incidents in the first 11 months of 2011 and 2,294 during the same time period in 2012.
Police reported 16- shooting victims in November 2014, a 19 percent increase from the 134 shooting victims in November 2013. There were 146 shooting victims in November 2011 and 107 in November 2012.
For the year, police reported 2,366 shooting victims, a 13 percent increase from the 2,098 through November 2013. There were 2,335 shooting victims in the first 11 months of 2011 and 2,716 during the same time period in 2012.
"We will continue to build on our community policing efforts, fostering stronger relationships with the residents we serve, and we will continue to put more officers in high crime areas and proactively intervene in gang conflicts," McCarthy said.
Nadia Ezaldein / Submitted photo
BY JON SEIDEL
Chicago Sun-Times
The University of Chicago student gunned down at a downtown department store on Black Friday complained to police in the past about the ex-boyfriend who fatally shot her Friday, Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy said.
McCarthy made his comment Monday when asked whether 22-year-old Nadia Ezaldein was afraid to report the abuse she suffered at the hands of 31-year-old Marcus Dee.
McCarthy confirmed Dee was the son of Chicago Police officers, but he said that didn't stop the woman from going to the authorities.
"There was actually an incident the week before," McCarthy said. "And we're looking into the circumstances of that incident. So whoever's saying that she was afraid to come forward, she did come forward. So that's, that's just fact."
McCarthy did not elaborate on the incident he mentioned, nor would a Chicago Police spokesman. McCarthy said investigators are looking into the background of Dee, who he said had a valid FOID card "at one time."
Meanwhile, court records show Ezaldein's sister accused Dee in April of cracking Ezaldein's ribs, stabbing her jacket and putting a gun in her mouth. Dee and Ezaldein's sister traded those and other allegations last spring as each sought protective orders against the other. In both cases, a Cook County judge dismissed the petition the day it was filed.
Friday night, on one of the busiest shopping days of the year, Dee walked into the accessories department at the Nordstrom at Michigan and Grand avenues where Ezaldein worked, “exchanged words” with her and opened fire, authorities said. Dee shot Ezaldein in the head or neck, then turned the gun on himself and died inside the store.
It was Ezaldein’s birthday, her family said.
Scene where Nadia Ezaldein was fatally shot / Photo by Eric Clark
Dee sought a no-contact order April 7 against Ezaldein’s sister, who is from Florida. He claimed the sister threatened to come to Chicago and have him arrested. He also said she threatened to take out a restraining order against him “to get me kicked out of the Army.”
She threatened to have a family member kill him, he said.
Finally, he claimed she called and told him by voicemail he is “a dead motherf-----.”
Cook County Judge Cynthia Ramirez denied his petition.
Then, on April 8, Ezaldein’s sister petitioned for her own no-contact order against Dee. She accused him of dealing drugs and weapons, and she said he threatened to send private photos and videos to her father and brother.
She said he called her a whore, spit in her face, threatened to kill her and smashed Ezaldein’s phone.
The sister also claimed that, in March, Dee cracked Ezaldein’s ribs, broke her jaw, ripped her clothing, stabbed her jacket with a switch knife, ripped her boots, bruised her lip, threw her clothing out the window and put a gun in her mouth. Finally, she said he called in April and threatened to kill himself because she had gotten the cops involved.
Despite multiple attempts, Dee's parents have not been reached for comment.
Ezaldein’s sister said Dee also sent her text messages claiming to be Ezaldein, even though Ezaldein was with her.
Cook County Judge Caroline Kate Moreland denied the sister’s petition.
Dee and Ezaldein’s sister each claimed in their petitions to have filed a police report.
Ezaldein’s sister, who asked that her name not be used, has previously said Ezaldein dated Dee from August 2012 until she broke up with him in December 2013. But she said Dee continued to abuse her sister after that.
Marcus Dee / Submitted photo
Another woman who sought an order of protection against Dee in 2007 told the Chicago Sun-Times she suffered similar abuse while dating Dee. The woman, who asked that her name not be used, said she dated Dee for three months that year. She said if she upset him or threatened to leave him “he would basically threaten your family or threaten your friends.”
That woman said she initially sought an order of protection against Dee after someone broke into her home and stole money after they broke up. She suspected Dee, but said she ultimately decided she didn’t want to provoke him further and chose not to pursue the order of protection.
Ezaldein had studied law at the University of Chicago while also working at Nordstrom to support herself, her family said. Police said she was a seasonal worker at the department store. The university confirmed Ezaldein had been at student at the school, but said she was not enrolled for the fall semester.
-- Contributing: Tina Sfondeles and Becky Schlikerman
Leroy Stinson, 50, was killed when a bullet came through his Back of the Yards home and struck him in the head in November. Reader "Veronika Y" posted this about him:
Rest in peace Mr. Leroy Stinson! You will truly be missed and I have memories of you that I will never forget! You were always so helpful to me, and I am so happy that I got the opportunity to know you as a person! I send my condolences to the entire Stinson family and may peace and blessings be with them at this time of need. You will forever be missed Mr. Stinson! Rest in peace <3
Marcus Dee (left) and Nadia Ezaldein (right) / Submitted photo
BY JON SEIDEL
Chicago Sun-Times
Marcus Dee left a diary behind in the safe under his bed, his sister said.
It was full of love poems.
Dee wrote some. But mostly, they were penned by Nadia Ezaldein. And she was “brilliant,” Candice Dee said.
In the composition notebook to the man who would one day violently take her life before taking his own, Ezaldein wrote, “a ring can’t define us.”
“Nadia and Marcus were together,” Candice Dee said. “And they were very, very much in love.”
With those comments, Candice Dee broke her family’s silence Monday. She spoke to the Chicago Sun-Times three days after police said Marcus Dee, 31, walked into the Michigan Avenue Nordstrom on one of the busiest shopping days of the year, fatally shot 22-year-old Ezaldein and took his own life. It was Ezaldein’s birthday.
Immediately after the shooting, Ezaldein’s family said Dee had subjected the University of Chicago student to “months and months of psychological torment” before killing her. Ezaldein’s sister accused Marcus Dee of cracking Ezaldein’s ribs, breaking her jaw and putting a gun in her mouth in court records that became available Monday.
But all of that clashed with Candice Dee’s loving description of her brother, the man she said was “caring” and “wonderful” and had “one of the biggest hearts you’ve ever seen.”
Ezaldein’s family has said the couple split in December 2013, but Candice Dee insisted their final breakup came only two weeks ago.
She acknowledged that her brother had a temper. She said Ezaldein’s father stood in the way of the couple’s relationship.
Nadia Ezaldein / Submitted photo
And in the end, Candice Dee said Ezaldein had “done some things” to push him away that Marcus Dee couldn’t accept.
She wouldn’t elaborate on the details of her brother’s final days.
“They were, I guess, soul mates,” Candice Dee said of the couple. “She read him. She understood him. But she couldn’t make certain parts of him better. He couldn’t be good enough for her parents. She knew that. And it ruined him. And it ruined them.”
Candice Dee acknowledged the mother and stepfather who raised them are Chicago police officers. But Supt. Garry McCarthy told reporters Monday that didn’t stop Ezaldein from telling authorities about Marcus Dee’s alleged abuse.
“There was actually an incident the week before,” McCarthy said. “And we’re looking into the circumstances of that incident. So whoever’s saying that she was afraid to come forward, she did come forward.”
McCarthy didn’t elaborate, but a police source said Marcus Dee was accused of punching a male acquaintance of Ezaldein’s on Nov. 22. McCarthy said investigators are now looking into the background of Marcus Dee, who he said had a valid FOID card “at one time.” A source also said the gun used in the shooting was not a police service weapon.
Meanwhile, court records show Marcus Dee and Ezaldein’s sister traded violent allegations in April as each sought a no-contact order against the other.
In his, Marcus Dee claimed Ezaldein’s sister threatened to come to Chicago and have him arrested. He said she threatened to take out a restraining order against him “to get me kicked out of the Army.”
He said she threatened to have her brother kill him, and he said she told him in a voicemail he’s “a dead motherf – – – – -.” The petition was denied by Cook County Judge Cynthia Ramirez.
The next day, Ezaldein’s sister filed her own petition accusing Marcus Dee of dealing drugs and weapons. She said he threatened to send private photos and videos to her father and brother. She said he called her a whore, spit in her face, threatened to kill her and smashed Ezaldein’s phone.
Finally, she said Marcus Dee cracked Ezaldein’s ribs, broke her jaw, ripped her clothing, tore her jacket with a switch knife, ripped her boots, bruised her lip, threw her clothing out a window and put a gun in her mouth.
Marcus Dee / Submitted photo
Cook County Judge Caroline Kate Moreland denied the sister’s petition.
Despite the court filings, Candice Dee said her brother and Ezaldein rarely fought. When they did, “it was bad.”
“I know it’s a really ugly situation,” she said. “But they loved each other so much.”
Mostly, she said they laughed and hung out. And she said their best friend was Candice Dee’s 9-year-old daughter.
Ezaldein called the little girl the couple’s “happy place,” Candice Dee said.
Then, before Marcus Dee left his sister’s sight for the final time, he told his sister “you’re the only thing I’ve ever had.”
When she wanted to see him, he told her she could look into her daughter’s eyes.
“Because I live through her,” he said.
-- Contributing: Stefano Esposito
Joshua Rockett, 21, was fatally shot last week in the Washington Heights community. Reader "Katelyn S." posted this about him:
Rest East Big Josh. Gone Too Soon ♥
Alexandra Burgos / Family photo
BY KENNY NGUYEN
Homicide Watch Chicago
Alexandra Burgos enjoyed working with children and wanted to pursue a career in social work, her mother said.
"Her goal [was] to work in the Cook County Juvenile Detention Center," said Burgos mother, Milagros Burgos. "She had her heart set up to help kids that needed help."
Alexandra Burgos, 18, was fatally shot in the 5300 block of West Oakdale Avenue about 12:35 a.m. Oct. 19, authorities said.
She was sitting in an apartment when gunfire erupted outside and one of the bullets came through the window and struck her in the head, police said.
Milagros Burgos said her daughter had recently started a new job at a YMCA in north suburban Niles. On the night of the shooting, she left work, briefly stopped home then went to pick up a sibling from a friend's home, where she was shot.
"She did her sisterly duty," Milagros Burgos said. "She was a protective sister and he knew that, she was always there when he needed her."
Alexandra Burgos had always helped her family and area children. Before working at the YMCA, she worked with children as a recreational leader at the Chicago Park District, her mother said.
"The kids in general had an attachment with Alexandra," Milagros Burgos said. "Not that she did it purposely, but they loved the way she was -- her mannerism and her kindness."
Alexandra Burgos went to Von Steuben Metropolitan Science Center, where she took part in an After School Matters program that provided the opportunity to go to culinary school for six months, her mother said.
"She loved baking. She would make chocolate, velvet or lemon cake for the holidays," Milagros Burgos said. "She also thought about doing cooking as a career but she decided she wanted that to be a hobby and not a living."
Alexandra Burgos / Family photo
After high school, Alexandra Burgos enrolled at Wilbur Wright College and hoped to transfer to a four-year university to pursue a degree in social work, her mother said.
In addition to working with children and baking, Alexandra Burgos enjoyed music and dancing, her mother said.
“She knew how to dance,” Milagros Burgos said. “She did her own choreography for her cotillion. She had a hidden talent that I would see and I would tell her that she should go to school in that.”
Alexandra Burgos' athleticism wasn't limited to dance, and she played baseball, basketball and softball in high school, her mother said.
“One time I went to Alexandra’s basketball game and I called the referee an umpire instead of a referee, and she would just smile back,” Milagros Burgos said.
Melissa Hernandez said she will remember her friend's welcoming personality more than anything.
“Her smile was something I would never forget,” Hernandez said. “She was so bright and welcoming. She impacted people’s lives in the ways no one else could. Alexandra had a ton of potential, she was about to change people’s lives and it’s unfortunate that she didn’t have that opportunity.”
Alexandra Burgos / Family photo
Another friend, Marissa Finley, noted how Alexandra Burgos' personality affected others.
“She was a really happy person. Her positivity and her smile was just so contagious,” Finley said.
Finley and Alexandra Burgos became friends when they were young and the pair bonded at family parties and vacations to the Wisconsin Dells and Florida, Finley said.
The day before the shooting, Finley invited Alexandra Burgos to her first-ever professional show at Second City, Finley said.
"She kept texting me saying, 'I hope I will make it,'" Finley said. "She was like a sister to me. She was so close to me, so the fact that she would miss that ... I would be really heartbroken. She tried everything and beyond to make it, and she did."
The last time Finley saw her friend was after the show.
"The fact that she loved me, and the fact that I loved her the exact same way, is like I can’t believe this happened," Finley said. "She was a very big piece of my heart that will never be filled again."
After Alexandra Burgos' death, her grammar school, middle school and college held a moment of silence in her honor, said her mother, who believes there needs to be more programs for youths to stop violence.
“There has to be more reach out programs to reach out to the kids and show them that we care and love them, and that they don’t need to be out there hurting others and themselves,” Milagros Burgos said.
“Alexandra was a peacemaker, she didn’t like conflicts. She didn’t like any type of controversy. She always makes sure everyone got along, she loving and a very humbled person."
Nobody has been charged for the murder. Area North detectives are investigating.
A 17-year-old boy was fatally shot in the Austin neighborhood Wednesday night.
Demond Avant was standing on a sidewalk in the 600 block of North Mayfield Avenue when a gunman exited a nearby van and opened fire about 9:25 p.m. Wednesday, authorities said.
Avant, of the 1000 block of North Monitor Avenue, was shot in the head and died at the scene, authorities said.
Nobody has been charged for the murder.
Area North detectives are investigating.
Nigell D. Vasquez, 22, was fatally shot in September in the Chatham neighborhood. Erick T. Horton was arrested for the slaying in October and is being held on $1 million bond. Reader "Shanda" posted this about him:
Everyday I miss you dearly, Nigell. It s been 3 months, since you were murdered by this animal. My heart is forever broken from this terrible lost. I pray he gets the maximum sentence and justice will prevail for you my son. No mother should bury her child, due to senseless murder. RIP my Nana, you are deeply missed and I love you forever, your mother.
BY ASHLEE REZIN
Sun-Times Media
The grandmother of a 22-year-old man shot to death Sunday afternoon on the South Side said she can’t understand why anyone would do that to her grandson, and that the family can’t afford to give him a burial.
“He was a good young man, he didn’t bother nobody,” said Alberta Williams, 73, the grandmother of Darnell Williams, who was gunned down about 3:10 p.m. Sunday in the Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood.
Emergency crews found him shot in the back in the 7200 block of South Vincennes Avenue, police said.
Darnell Williams, of the 600 block of West Cermak Road, died about two hours later at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. An autopsy ruled his death a homicide.
“We don’t have insurance,” said Alberta Williams. “We don’t know how we’re going to bury him.”
She said Darnell Williams was a “bucket boy” who hung out near 71st Street and the Dan Ryan Expressway.
“He beat on a white bucket and asked people for money,” Alberta Williams said. “Every time I saw him, that’s what he was doing. He was not gang-banging.”
Police claimed the 22-year-old had documented gang ties.
“I don’t believe that,” Alberta Williams said. “He was too quiet for that.”
She added that Darnell Williams’ mom said “he was just sitting on a porch” at the time of the shooting.
“I don’t believe he was in no gang,” Alberta Williams said.
Police said no one has been charged for the shooting.
She said the last time she spoke with her grandson, he told her he loved her.
“He called me Sunday and said, ‘Grandma, what time are you getting out of church?’ I said, ‘I’ll be home around four,’ and he said he was going to bring me two 2-liters of 7 Up.’”
“I said, ‘That’s good, son. I love you.’ And he said, ‘I love you too, grandma,” Alberta Williams said. “That was the last time I talked to him.”
