Josue is the youngest of seven siblings. His family is very thankful, because after being shot multiple times, the 8-year-old boy is expected to make a full recovery.
Josue Torres told doctors he thought he was going to die, but the trauma surgeon at Stroger hospital assured the 8-year-old boy that wasn't going to happen.
Late Monday night, the boy and his mother were waiting in the family's parked van on the 1100-block of North Spaulding. His father was picking up something to eat. Just before 10 p.m., a black car with tinted windows drove by. Police say a man inside the car started shooting at the van. Josue was hit several times in the lower abdomen. He was first taken to Norwegian American Hospital then transferred to Stroger Hospital. The boy was in critical condition.
"At one point while being conscious he told the doctors and his staff, 'I'm going to miss you all when I die, you all have been very nice to me,' to which the staff replied to him, 'We're going to save your life and you will live, ' " said Sean Howard, Stroger Hospital spokesperson.
After a successful surgery this morning, Josue Torres is stable. His mother, Jessica Perez, released this statement: "On behalf of my family and I, we would like to extend our deepest gratitude to Dr. John Houston and the entire trauma unit staff at Stroger Hospital. Our son is doing well and due to the trauma team's efforts, he now has a second chance at life."
"He is stable and improving. His vital signs are very good. He is breathing on his own. He is hungry. The doctors are very pleased," said Howard.
Community activists are calling on Humboldt Park neighbors to help police find the gunman.
"Just take a look at this young man and think about it. If it was your nephew, if it was your relative, what would you do? The code of silence has got to cease in the city of Chicago, throughout the nation, and turn in these perpetrators with these guns," said Andrew Holmes, community activist.
Area Four police detectives are in charge of the investigation. So far they have not made any arrests. Police confirm that this shooting was gang related.
