Two men were shot and killed early Sunday morning when gunfire erupted during a fight outside a home in south suburban Chicago Heights, according to family and authorities.
At around 4 a.m., officers with the Chicago Heights Police Department responded to the 500 block of West 14th Place for multiple calls of shots fired, police stated in a news release. Officers arrived at the scene and found two men who had been shot. Both individuals were transported to the hospital by the Chicago Heights Fire Department, where they later died from their injuries, authorities said.
Relatives identified the victims as David Parra, 30, and Antonio Munoz, 32.
“We were just getting home, and we were going to chill here inside the house, and they went to my cousin’s car and other people came over here and fought with them," said Crystal Chavez, Parra's wife.
Chavez said she and Parra were supposed to spend Sunday celebrating their sixth wedding anniversary. Instead, their family gathered on the outskirts of crime scene tape, holding each other tight.
"David, he was always cooking," relative Martha Chavez said. "He loved to cook right, he would always invite us over...and Antonio the same way. He was like a teddy bear but six three...but the teddy bear in the family, always hugging everyone."
According to police, several subjects were observed in the area as officers worked on scene, prompting police to request assistance from neighboring communities as well as the South Suburban Emergency Response Team and South Suburban Major Crimes Task Force.
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Both Parra and Munoz leave behind several children. The youngest is just 1-year-old.
“They were good, God-fearing people," he said. "We all believe in God and that’s what we lean on, and that’s what’s getting us through this time.”
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The incident remained under investigation Sunday evening, and there was believed to be no ongoing threat to the community, authorities stated.
