“Happy Father’s Day,” read one message on the black poster board. “RIP Gyo,” read another.
The sign was taped to a pole just feet from where Gyovanni Arzuaga was shot to death and his girlfriend — the mother of their two children — was critically wounded during the Puerto Rican Day Parade in Humboldt Park Saturday night.
Arzuaga, who had just turned 24, and the woman, 25, were ambushed by up to three people around 9:15 p.m. in the 3200 block of West Division Street, according to Chicago police.
Lea este artículo en español en La Voz Chicago.
Arzuaga was taken to Saints Mary and Elizabeth Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, police said. The woman was hit in the neck and taken to Stroger Hospital in critical condition.
A police spokeswoman said there was a crash before the shooting and a crowd had surrounded the couple’s car. Video circulated on social media appears to show the couple being dragged from the car and shot as they lay in the street.
Police would not comment on the video Monday morning. No one was reported in custody, and no descriptions or images of the attackers were released.
A memorial is seen on Sunday for Gyovanny Arzuaga, who was shot and killed in the 3200 block of West Division Street on Saturday. Gyovanny was in a car with Yasmin Perez, who also was shot and critically wounded.
Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times
A memorial was erected Sunday near the site of the shooting. Loved ones lit candles and left balloons and bouquets of flowers for Arzuaga.
“He was just there to have a good time and go back home,” said his friend, Jae Pacheco, who had planned to meet up with him later in the evening.
Arzuaga was remembered Sunday as a family man who was funny and full of life.
“He was such an amazing friend. He was really caring,” Pacheco said. “He was just about being around good vibes, being around good people.”
Chicago homicide database and map
Police tape outside a Chicago apartment building.
Getty Images
Homicides in Chicago — A list of every victim: Our comprehensive database tracks every homicide in the city with information about victims, locations and more.
Before the parade, police had shut down some of the streets surrounding Humboldt Park, creating traffic jams, witnesses said.
Last week, Ald. Roberto Maldonado (26th) complained in a Facebook post about the police district’s “drastic” decision to close Luis Munoz Marin Drive, a street near the annual parade, in an attempt to prevent violence.
But a police spokesperson said Sunday the inner drive of the park has never been opened to vehicular traffic during the parade. Maldonado didn’t respond to requests for comment Sunday.
Contributing: Tyler LaRiviere
Chicago police work the scene where 2 people were shot, one fatally, in the 3200 block of West Division Street in the Humboldt Park neighborhood on Saturday.
Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times
