A family is in shock after a 32-year-old man who had just landed his dream job was shot and killed in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood on Tuesday night.
Frank Aguilar, who had been hired as a nurse at Misericordia Heart of Mercy Hospital in March, was returning home from work at approximately 11:30 p.m. in the 3700 block of West 32nd Street when a person in a gray colored SUV fired shots at him, striking him in the chest.
Aguilar was taken to Mount Sinai, where he was pronounced dead.
Now, his family is left questioning why someone would target Aguilar when he was wearing scrubs and carrying a laundry basket just steps away from his family’s home.
“Everyone was so proud of him,” Aguilar’s brother Abe said.
“He was my lighthouse. My guide,” Aguilar’s uncle Joshua Alcazar said.
Aguilar’s family says he was returning home from a shift at the hospital, wearing scrubs and carrying a laundry basket. He also had a bag containing snacks that he was going to enjoy with his nephews and niece at his sister’s residence.
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“He was my biggest inspiration,” Aguilar’s niece April Barahona said. “He was everybody’s role model. He was there for everybody.”
Officials at Misericordia describe Aguilar as an “outstanding young man,” and are in shock after his death.
“Everyone liked working with him. He was kind and compassionate. He was so excited about his new role as a nurse. He will be deeply missed,” Administrator Denise Tigges said in a statement.
At the scene of the shooting, a cross and a picture memorialize Aguilar, and his family is calling for the shooter to come forward.
“Come forward and admit to your wrongs,” his nephew Airam Barahona said. “He would’ve been the one saving you instead of him being the one on the table.”
Police are continuing to investigate the shooting, and are asking for anyone with surveillance footage to come forward.
A GoFundMe raising money for Aguilar’s burial expenses has already raised over $5,000, his family says.
