UIC student shot to death while waiting for mom to finish doctor’s appointment, family says

A 19-year-old University of Illinois Chicago student who was shot to death Wednesday in Douglass Park was a beloved brother and a kind, hardworking person, according to his family.

Giovanni “Gio” Flores would have been a sophomore at UIC this fall, according to an online campaign to cover his funeral expenses.

He was shot in the West Side park in the 1600 block of South Farrar Drive around 1 p.m. after dropping off his mother nearby at Mount Sinai Hospital for a doctor’s appointment and was eating lunch while waiting for her to be done, the slain man’s older brother Steven Flores said in a Facebook post.

Gio Flores was shot multiple times in the back of his head and body, authorities said, and died at Mount Sinai.

“Anybody who knew my baby brother knew he wouldn’t hurt a fly, and he’d never do anything to deserve this,” his brother said. “He was just beginning to experience life, and he was doing everything the way he’s supposed to. He worked hard, he studied hard, and he treated everyone with respect.”