Chicago shooting: Army veteran Jason Benitez killed while walking dog in Little Village

CHICAGO (WLS) -- An Army veteran was shot in the face in the early hours of Tuesday while walking his dog.

Chicago police said a 30-year-old man was found on the street in the 3400-block of West 30th Street in Little Village with a gunshot wound to his face. He was taken to Mt. Sinai Hospital, where he later died.

Family identified the man as Jason Benitez, an Army veteran who had just returned from serving four years in South Korea.

"He served his country and this is the way we pay him. This is how we pay him after he returns from service," said Alfredo Benitez, father.

Benitez had just come home from his second job and was walking his dog down the block from his home when his father said he was ambushed outside a corner laundromat.

"Just because you wear a hoodie, that doesn't mean you're a gangbanger. It's cold out there," Benitez said.

Since Benitez had just gone out to walk his dog, he had no ID on him.

"The police stop his roommate that was going to work and they wanted to know whose dog it was and they showed him a picture of my son and he knew it was my son who was laying on the floor here," Benitez said.

Alfredo Benitez said investigators are trying to get footage off nearby surveillance cameras, hoping it shows something identifying for the person or people who killed his son.

No one is currently in custody. An investigation is ongoing.