Family remembers 19-year-old killed in Little Village

CHICAGO (WLS) -- The family of a young man gunned down in Chicago Thursday night wants to make sure that the 19-year-old is not just another murder statistic.

About 40 people attended a vigil Friday night near the site where Michael Fernandez was shot in Little Village. They remembered a warm, friendly young man who hoped to make something of his life.

"He was a guy that was loved by everyone," said Rev. Robert Belfort.

"These bullets are just killing people that have a future and leaving families heartbroken," said his aunt, Carmen Espinoza.

Fernandez was meeting a friend, waiting outside her house, when gunfire erupted and he was apparently hit by a bullet intended for someone else, his relatives said.

He graduated last year from Farragut High School, where he was in the ROTC. Fernandez considered studying cooking and working as a chef.

"I just want justice, it's all I want. It's not fair. He had so much potential," said cousin Jordan Martinez.

The family is offering a $1,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest.