Family, friends go fishing to mourn man killed in Avalon Park shooting

CHICAGO (WLS) -- It's been a month since David Plank was killed by stray gunfire as he was headed to work at a Chicago hospital.

On Monday, his friends and loved ones cast their fishing lines to honor the father of two and offer a reward for information leading to his killer.

Playing the guitar was one of David Plank's passions along with fishing. His favorite spot was Arrowhead Lake in Palos Heights, Ill. That's where his family and friends gathered to call for renewed attention to the crime that took Plank's life.

He was shot and killed last month. He was randomly hit by gunfire as he was driving to work.

"It still doesn't feel real. The second I found out about it, I feel like a part of my heart just shrank and it still hasn't come back," David Plank Jr., the victim's son said.

The 16-year-old and his younger brother Ryan went fishing just as they had done with their father many times before.

"He was an amazing dad. He loved to take us out fishing. Go for walks. This was his favorite place, too," he said.

Plank lived in the southwest suburbs. On August 3, the 54-year-old was headed to his maintenance job at Jackson Park Hospital.

He was driving near 84th and Stony Island in the Avalon Park neighborhood when a bullet pierced his car, hitting him in the chest and causing him to crash into another car.

Police say he was not the intended target.

"We're going to find who did this and find peace for these boys so they don't have to think for the rest of their life that they may be passing somebody on the street that could have done this horrific thing that changed their life forever," Kimberly Dewar, Plank's ex-wife, said.

Plank's friends said they want to make Monday's gathering an annual event that condemns violence and supports peaceful hobbies that Plank loved.

"I saw him almost every day. He was always out and about in the neighborhood, on the porch playing his guitar. We really miss him," Jim Thorpe, Plank's friend, said.

The crime remains unsolved. Plank's family has been in touch with police since the shooting. They say that detectives will update them on their investigation this week.