Although 16 and a junior at Benito Juarez Community Academy, Angie Monroy had the heart of a child, family members said.
She could tirelessly play with her young cousins, and before she was killed over the weekend, relatives thought she’d be suited for teaching or childcare.
But she also had been telling family members she wanted to be a Chicago firefighter — which seemed a stretch for the youngest of three siblings who was affectionately referred to as flaca (skinny in Spanish) due to her slight frame.
And in recent months, she began to show a new level of ambition and drive.
Angie began working after school at a local clothing store to put money in her pocket and help out her mom, a paper factory worker, and dad, a forklift driver, pay bills.
But while she was walking home at 9:45 p.m. Saturday after a shift at the store, Angie was shot and killed.
Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said she was the “unintended victim” of a “savage attack” when she was hit by gunfire from a drive-by shooting.
Video from a nearby surveillance camera shows her walking alone on a sidewalk in the 2300 block of South Rockwell Street in Little Village when someone in a vehicle shoots down the street at “a couple of people,” Guglielmi said.
Angie appears to take cover, but is struck in the head by one of the bullets about 9:45 p.m., authorities said. She was taken in critical condition to Mt. Sinai Medical Center and died the next day.
Guglielmi said the shooting happened in an area of known gang conflict. He said Monroy had no criminal history or connection with gangs. No arrests have been made.
“She had big dreams ahead of her, she wanted a lot,” her older sister, Joselyn Monroy, 22, said in an interview at the family’s home in Pilsen Monday evening.
If Angie’s parents or older brother or sister couldn’t give her a ride, they instructed her to walk straight home, out of fear that being on the street any longer than necessary at night could be dangerous, according to Joselyn.
‘It was horrible’
“We were always just telling her just come straight home, and this is the reason why, basically, because you don’t know what can happen, you never know what can happen, it was horrible,” she said.
“I hope this is something that the people of Chicago, the mayor, take into consideration and finally do something about it, because this gun violence has to stop,” she said.
“It’s out of control,” added Angie’s brother, Steven Monroy, 19, who’s studying criminal justice at Harold Washington College.
Nearly $14,000 had been raised by Monday evening in an online GoFundMe set up by family members to cover funeral and memorial expenses.
“She was smart, thoughtful, beautiful, and loving,” Joselyn Monroy wrote about Angie. “Losing a sibling and losing a child is unbearable pain.”
Principal teared up
On Monday, Benito Juarez Principal Juan Ocon teared up while talking to students during morning announcements over the school’s public announcement system. Angie was a cheerleader for the Eagles and also played basketball.
Many classmates dressed in blue Monday to honor Angie. It was her favorite color.
“We shouldn’t have to live in a world where we have to watch our backs. It’s terrifying,” said Jazmine Abarca, 15, a Benito Juarez sophomore who was friends with Angie.
“Everyone here is just really sad. Angie had a smile that would brighten your day, even if you only saw her for a moment. And she was just an innocent person. As much as we might be in high school, we’re still kids. She didn’t get to live out her dreams,” Abarca said.
