Grandfather visiting family killed in Highland Park mass shooting: ‘He was the one who saved all of our lives’

Nicolas Toledo, a grandfather visiting family in Highland Park, was identified by his granddaughter as one of the people killed in the mass shooting at the Fourth of July parade in the north suburb.

SHARE Grandfather visiting family killed in Highland Park mass shooting: ‘He was the one who saved all of our lives’
Nicolas Toledo was one of seven people killed in the shooting Monday in Highland Park.

Nicolas Toledo was killed in the shooting Monday in Highland Park, family members said.

Provided

Nicolas Toledo wasn’t sure if he wanted to go to the Fourth of July parade in Highland Park.

He used a walker and figured there would be a large crowd gathered to watch the parade’s floats, said Xochil Toledo, his granddaughter. The family didn’t want to leave him alone, so on Monday morning, they all walked over together to Central Avenue.

She remembers looking over at her grandfather, who was sitting in the middle of her family, as a band passed them playing music.

La Voz Sidebar

Lea este artículo en español en La Voz Chicago, la sección bilingüe del Sun-Times.
la-voz-cover-photo-2.png

“He was so happy,” she said. “Happy to be living in the moment.”

They didn’t realize someone had opened fire on the crowd until bullets started coming toward them, three striking her grandfather and killing him at the scene.

“He was the one who saved all of our lives. It would have gone to me, my boyfriend or my cousins,” she said.

Toledo said her father tried to shield her grandfather and was shot in the arm. Her father and a cousin stayed with her grandfather as chaos swirled around them.

Some tried to run away and she soon realized her boyfriend was shot in the back. Someone was able to take her boyfriend to a nearby hospital because they weren’t sure if there would be enough ambulances arriving for all the victims, she said.

“We were all in shock,” said Xochil Toledo. “We were crying. We couldn’t believe all that had happened. We couldn’t breathe.”

Downtown Highland Park after a mass shooting at the Fourth of July parade Monday, July 4, 2022.

Downtown Highland Park after a mass shooting at the Fourth of July parade Monday, July 4, 2022.

Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times

Instead of getting together for a Fourth of July cookout like the family had planned to do after the parade, Toledo said the family remained Monday afternoon in a state of shock. The family created a GoFundMe campaign to help with funeral expenses.

“We are just very upset with everything going on,” she said. “We feel weak, numb.”

Her father was released Monday from the hospital, but her boyfriend remained hospitalized, she said.

Nicolas Toledo had spent most of his life in Morelos, Mexico, and had come to Illinois to visit his family about two months ago. The family wanted him to stay permanently because of injuries he had suffered after being hit by a car a couple years ago in Highland Park.

Her grandfather was in his late 70s, and he had eight children, most in the United States and others in Mexico, Xochil Toledo said. Her grandfather had a big smile and bright blue eyes that stood out.

He liked to color, enjoyed fishing and liked to take walks around Highland Park, Toledo said.

“He never wanted to be inside. He always wanted to be outside,” she said.

Nicolas Toledo preferred a home-cooked meal to eating out. He also had a sense of humor and would joke about her grandmother taking his shoes.

“He was a sweet, caring grandfather,” Toledo said. “He wanted only the best for his kids and grandchildren.”

Another victim remembered for ‘kindness and warmth’

One of five other fatal shooting victims was identified as Jacki Sundheim of the North Shore Congregation Israel.

In a letter to worshipers, Rabbi Wendi Geffen said Sundheim was a lifelong congregant who worked for decades on the synagogue’s staff.

“Jacki’s work, kindness and warmth touched us all, from her teaching at the Gates of Learning Preschool to guiding innumerable among us through life’s moments of joy and sorrow, all of this with tireless dedication,” Geffen wrote. “There are no words sufficient to express the depth of our grief for Jacki’s death and sympathy for her family and loved ones.”

Sundheim is survived by her husband and daughter, according to Geffen. Her family could not be reached.

Contributing: Kaitlin Washburn

Elvia Malagón’s reporting on social justice and income inequality is made possible by a grant from The Chicago Community Trust.

The Latest
In all, 129,000 children, 68% of those 5 or younger, had lead in their home drinking water, a study found.
It’s one to flush for the right-hander acquired from the Padres in the Dylan Cease trade.
Un cuestionario para candidatos para ayudarle a considerar sus opciones en las elecciones primarias de Illinois del 19 de marzo de 2024.
“I don’t talk about all the hard work and dedication it takes to take care of my son and the effort and the hard work that his siblings put in. … This is gonna be the rest of our lives,” Erika Boyd told reporters shortly after the City Council’s Finance Committee authorized a $45 million settlement to cover the medical care her son will need for the rest of his life.