The shooting happened on Sunday, during a so-called "street takeover" at the intersection of 59th Street and Western Avenue around 3:15 a.m., according to Chicago police.
[Ads /]
Guillermo Caballero, known as "Memito," was trying to get through the intersection when he was shot at multiple times by two gunman, police said.
RELATED | Driver killed at Gage Park street takeover may not have been a participant, alderperson says
His family said he was just days away from moving out of the city. They are demanding justice, and debating their own future in Chicago.
"He was the whole sun itself," his cousin Elizabeth Caballero said. "When people were sick, when people were down, depressed, he was just like the fire to lift you up."
The shooting happened on the border of West Englewood and Gage Park.
[Ads /]
"Around this neighborhood, you hear shots every single day. We wanted to get away from this city," said his girlfriend Rocio Lemus.
Lemus and Caballero had been together for six years. She said he was just days away from leaving the city with his family for a new home in the southwest suburbs.
"We're already packing, we actually have a lot already packed. We were ready to leave, and ready to start a new life with him," she said.
Elizabeth Caballero said Guillermo was heading home after spending time with friends when he was killed.
"Wrong place at the wrong time. Too young," she said.
[Ads /]
"He wanted to have the opportunity to leave and change his life for the better," Lemus said.
Elizabeth Caballero said she is also contemplating leaving the city she calls home.
"I have to go. No family should be put through this," she said. "The violence was out to get somebody that night and it was him."
Chicago police are asking anyone with pictures or videos from that "street takeover" on Sunday is asked to reach out to detectives. The family has set up a fundraiser to help cover the funeral expenses.
INTERACTIVE SAFETY TRACKER | Track crime and safety in your neighborhood