'TRAGIC AND SENSELESS'
AN ALLEGED GANG FIGHT KILLS A JOLIET FATHER OUT WITH HIS TWO YOUNG SONS.


April 18, 2008
By BRIAN STANLEY Staff Writer
JOLIET -- Police say a stray bullet from an apparent gang fight killed a 40-year-old father Wednesday night.

"This is a very tragic and senseless killing," an angry police Chief Fred Hayes said Thursday. "We will be working vigorously to identify every individual involved ... We're not going to allow these gang-banging punks to take over our city."

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"We're not going to allow these gang-banging punks to take over our city," Joliet Police Chief Fred Hayes said Thursday in the wake of the shooting death of a 40-year-old father of two.

(Herald News Photo)


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Huizar

Alfredo Lopez died about a half-hour after he was shot in the back while walking with his 8- and 11-year-old sons through the parking lot of Walgreens, 358 Cass St.

"He had just pulled in and was holding (his sons) by the hand when the shooting began," said Hayes.

The chief said the fight that led to Lopez's death began at 7:07 p.m. at the Subway, 121 Collins St. The strip mall containing the Subway connects to the Walgreens lot on the north.

"A car containing gang members was parked at the Subway, when a rival gang drove by. A fight began inside the restaurant and spilled out where someone struck a vehicle with a chair," Hayes said.

Several witnesses told police a Subway employee, Daniel I. Huizar, fired three or four shots from a handgun as he chased one man out of the restaurant. Hayes said Huizar "has known ties to gang members."

Lopez was struck in the back and fell to the ground. His sons ran inside the Walgreens and hid, fearing for their lives.

"I can't imagine what would go through a these young boys' minds to see their father shot down like that. It's heartbreaking," Hayes said.

No one else was injured in the shooting. Lopez was taken to Silver Cross Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 7:36 p.m.

Detectives interviewed witnesses and reviewed surveillance tapes from both Subway and Walgreens. Deputy Chief Patrick Kerr said a $5 million arrest warrant on a charge of first-degree murder was obtained Wednesday night for Huizar.

Hayes said Huizar, 18, of 413 High St. was the only person seen shooting, with a gun other gang members had encouraged him to get. Reports indicate Huizar has been arrested by Joliet police as a juvenile, but those charges are confidential.

Huizar remained at large Thursday night.

"He should be considered armed and dangerous," Kerr said.

Huizar is described as being 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighing 135 pounds. Anyone with information is asked to call detectives at (815) 724-3020 or anonymously call CrimeStoppers at (800) 323-6734.

On Thursday afternoon, Lopez's family and friends gathered outside his home on the city's East Side. Many sat on the porch and in a circle of folding chairs on the sidewalk in silent disbelief. A member of the family said Lopez's slaying left them "too upset by grief" to comment at this time.

A short time later, a woman who was identified as Lopez's wife came out carrying a man's white- and blue-striped shirt and a plastic bag containing dress shoes. She and other family members got into a minivan and left, apparently on their way to the funeral home.

Reporter Brian Stanley can be reached at (815) 729-6079 or bstanley@scn1.com


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