Damian Dunning was shot and killed while driving on the expressway Sunday evening, just 10 days after his cousin Loyce Wright was shot to death while working at a Family Dollar in Austin.
“He was just posting about Loyce, missing him, then one week later he is gone,” Dunning’s older brother Roy Shannon told the Sun-Times.
Shannon was driving home Sunday when he heard the news — he could not believe what he was hearing.
“My sister called me and said, ‘Damian is dead, Mom is crying,’ Shannon said. “I said ‘Hold up, what do you mean?’”
Illinois State Police troopers told the family someone opened fire on Interstate 55 around 10:30 p.m. Sunday on the ramp to DuSable Lake Shore Drive.
Dunning, 41, was found in his vehicle with multiple gunshot wounds, according to Shannon. He was taken to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead. Shannon cannot imagine anyone would have intentionally shot his younger brother.
“The guy was loved,” Shannon told the Sun-Times. “He was a great kid … I say ‘kid’ because he’s my little brother. He didn’t have any run-ins with anyone. He didn’t have an enemy on this planet.”
Dunning had worked for the United States Postal Service for eight years and was beloved by all at USPS, his brother said.
“There is not a person at the post office who didn’t know this kid, who didn’t love him,” Shannon said. “They’ve been calling, sharing love, coming by my mom’s house. They can’t believe it.”
In his free time, Dunning was also working on developing an app called Geeq Music, aimed at assisting young up-and-coming artists.
Dunning leaves behind a handful of adoring nieces and nephews and a 7-year-old son, Shannon said.
“He’s 7 years old and he lost his dad,” Shannon said. “The person that was always actively involved in his life, taking him to karate, taking him to music class … to lose a dad at 7 years old is really hard.”
Dunning was also incredibly close with his cousin Loyce Wright. The pair grew up in suburban Bellwood and hung out together at the Boys and Girls Club after school.
Wright, 43, was fatally shot on Feb. 23, while working as a security guard at a Family Dollar in Austin.
“He was a loving guy, loved his family,’” Robin Wright, Loyce Wright’s older sister told the Sun-Times. “And for someone to just snatch his life like that, we will never forgive.”
Police say the Family Dollar shooting was likely sparked by an argument with a former co-worker, Rodgerick O’Neal, who was arrested in south suburban Dolton after allegedly shooting at Chicago police officers.
Early Monday morning, just hours after Dunning was fatally shot, Shannon says another relative was wounded in a shooting on the city’s South Side. That relative remains in critical condition, according to Shannon.
The family continues to take everything “day by day,” Shannon said, as they try to cope with the indescribable amount of loss.
As of Wednesday evening, no one has been charged in the shooting that killed Dunning.
“It could have been a mistake,” Shannon said. “I don’t know what happened. But when you’re man enough to do things like that, you should be man enough to come forward and say, look, I did it.”
The family has launched a GoFundMe page to help cover funeral costs. As of Tuesday evening, the page had raised $1,165 of its $25,000 goal.
