The neighbor of a man and woman connected to a fatal shooting Wednesday night in the west parking lot of Elmhurst Hospital said the family kept to themselves and were always helpful.
"I would see him walking down the street just taking a nice leisurely walk," said Maria Martucci, who has lived on the same quiet, tight-knit block in west suburban Elmhurst for more than 20 years, "and had something nice to say."
Elmhurst police said Martucci’s 73-year-old neighbor, Robert Shek, was discovered around 7 p.m. in the parking lot of the hospital at 155 E. Brush Hill Road with a fatal gunshot wound.
Minutes earlier, police said, a 44-year-old woman believed to be Shek's daughter, Imelda Shek, walked into the emergency room with a gunshot wound.
Police said Imelda Shek initially told officers her father had shot her and then himself in the parking lot. The hospital was placed on a brief lockdown, and the incident was contained to the parking lot.
"It's unfortunate and surreal," Martucci said.
Witnesses said they heard the shots before the hospital went on the temporary lockdown. "As we got out of the car we heard a shot," said Tony Dicarlo on Wednesday. "We were thinking it was like fireworks."
After the shooting Imelda Shek was taken to Loyola Medical Center for treatment. Police have not said why the shooting happened, but neighbors want answers.
Martucci said she remembers Shek as a longtime neighbor who took great pride in his home and took care of his garden in the summer.
"You wonder what is going on in someone's life for this to occur," she said.
