Santiago Aquino briefly peeked into his 15-year-old son Jerry’s bed room and watched as he soundly slept early Friday, not understanding it’d be the final time he noticed his son alive.
“There aren’t any phrases for that,” Aquino, 38, informed the Chicago Solar-Instances about studying of his son’s demise. “I used to be excited about many f- – – – – – issues, I used to be not considering proper.”
“He was my son and greatest buddy,” Aquino added.
Jerry F. Aquino was strolling within the 2800 block of South Komensky Avenue round 5:10 p.m. Friday when a black Jeep Grand Cherokee with no entrance license plate turned west on twenty eighth Road from an alley off Pulaski, in response to police reviews obtained by the Solar-Instances.
When the Jeep turned onto Komensky and pulled up alongside him, its entrance seat passenger began capturing at him, and Aquino started sprinting north however was hit and “rapidly crawled alongside the parkway and tried to cover behind a parked automobile,” the report mentioned.
The identical shooter jumped out and ran as much as Aquino and shot at him whereas the Jeep’s driver additionally started capturing as Aqunio lay on the bottom, the report mentioned.
The 2 assailants, masked and gloved and sporting all black, sped away south and haven’t been arrested, in response to police who mentioned the complete incident was captured on private and non-private video.
The teenager, who was born and raised in Little Village, was shot within the again, chest and left foot and he was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital the place he was pronounced useless at 6:13 p.m., the police report acknowledged. An post-mortem decided he died of a number of gunshot wounds and his demise was dominated a murder, in response to the Prepare dinner County medical expert’s workplace.
He was on his approach from welding coaching and was a block away from house when the capturing occurred, in response to Aquino.
“He was alone, he was strolling by,” Aquino mentioned. “He didn’t take note of who was round him.”
A witness informed officers he heard 5 to 6 pictures, in response to police. 5 shell casings of various calibers had been discovered on the scene.
The witness, who informed the Solar-Instances he was an in depth household buddy of Aquino, declined to remark Monday morning.
Aquino known as for an arrest to be made within the capturing and questioned who would wish to take his son’s life.
“I wish to see who did it and why,” Aquino mentioned. “[Justice] is vital.”
Aquino and his household had been planning on buying a bigger home to make extra space for Jerry, his dad and mom, his 17-year-old brother and 8-year-old sister. Now, the household’s subsequent steps are unsure.
“Now we do not know what’s gonna occur,” Aquino mentioned.
The teenager grew up idolizing Portuguese soccer participant Cristiano Ronaldo and started enjoying soccer to try to emulate him.
The elder Aquino, who coached his son’s Marquette Park workforce for 2 years, watched soccer grow to be his favourite pastime. When requested if there was some other exercise moreover soccer that he loved, Aquino couldn’t consider one.
Jerry had curly, lengthy hair and darkish eyes with a small mustache and attended Infinity Math Science & Know-how Excessive Faculty, Aquino mentioned.
Aquino mentioned the world will likely be “very totally different” with out his son round.
“We had been a household of 5, now we’re a household of 4,” Aquino mentioned.
