Gofundme raises $20k for NU student’s burial as cops continue hunt for suspects

Police have released photos of three suspects wanted in the fatal Sunday shooting of incoming Northwestern University graduate student Shane Colombo in Rogers Park.

In the surveillance photos, the three suspects are seen running across the parking lot of a Bank of America branch at 7516 N. Clark. Anyone with information about the suspects was asked to call Area North detectives at (312) 747-8380.

Colombo, 25, was walking at 8:25 p.m. Sunday in the 7500 block of North Clark Street when two people started shooting at each other, according to police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office. Colombo was caught in the crossfire and struck multiple times.

He was taken to Saint Francis Hospital in Evanston, where he died less than an hour later, authorities said.

Colombo, who was from Sun City, California, had recently moved to Evanston to join Northwestern University’s Ph.D. program this fall, according to a statement from university officials.

Chelsea West, the mother of his niece, has set up a GoFundMe page to return his body to his home state and pay for funeral expenses. It has surpassed its $20,000 goal, and the family plans to bring the body home Friday.

West said Colombo’s death “has taken the rug out from under us.” Last fall, Colombo had surprised his niece with a trip to Disneyland for her birthday.

“There aren’t words to describe the pain we are feeling,” said West, 27. “He was always giving, as if he knew the impermanence of life and the importance of sharing love.”

West described the shooting as “senseless.”

Ald. Joe Moore (4th), who represents Rogers Park, said: “I can’t imagine what they’re going through right now, and I understand totally why they’re angry and outraged. When you try to resolve disputes with guns, far too often innocent bystanders are shot.”

A funeral service was scheduled for Sept. 14th in San Clemente, California.