Erick Alfaro loved art, soccer and dressing up and was on the brink of graduating from junior high school.
But Wednesday night, the 14-year-old was fatally gunned down while walking in the mobile home park where he lived in unincorporated Elk Grove Township, according to the Cook County Sheriff’s Office.
“He had a future building up, but it was taken away,” said his older brother, Christian Alfaro, 20, of Elk Grove Township. “He was excited to start high school.”
Police say that around 7:15 p.m., the teen was walking with another child on the 400 block of West Touhy Avenue in the Blackhawk Estates community near Des Plaines when a dark-colored SUV approached. Multiple shots were fired from the vehicle, hitting the boy, who died of his injuries.
Christian Alfaro said that his younger brother liked to dress up in a white shirt and tie, just like their dad, who passed away in 2017.
“That’s how he liked to dress,” he said. “He liked the way my dad used to dress whenever we had parties.”
Private services for the teen will be held Tuesday. A family friend started a GoFundMe campaign to help pay for funeral costs and arrangements.
“We grew up playing soccer in the streets,” said the friend, Mia Matus, 19. “You don’t think that going outside is going to get you killed someday.”
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Anyone with information should call the Sheriff’s Police Investigation Section at 708-865-4896.