Man killed in Belmont Cragin shooting

A man coming back from church was shot and killed outside his home Sunday afternoon in the Belmont Cragin neighborhood on the Northwest Side, family members said.

Police said the 44-year-old man was shot about 2:20 p.m. in the 2800 block of North Lotus.

Family members — who identified the man as Luis Zuniga — said he had pulled up to his driveway after returning home from church and was getting out of his white minivan when someone in a parked vehicle fired shots. Police said the shooter then drove off.

The man was shot in the head and pronounced dead at the scene, according to police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Eric Salvado, 21, who said he is Zuniga’s brother-in-law, said Zuniga liked fixing cars and was a “really nice guy.”

“I don’t know why this happened,” Salvado said. “This is the first time someone close to me died so I don’t know what to think.”

Zuniga’s two daughters and stepson were among at least a dozen family members at the scene Sunday afternoon.

“I don’t know why anyone would do this,” Salvado said.

Victor Nevarez, 50, who has lived a block away from the location of the shooting for more than four years, said the neighborhood is normally quiet.

“This is a safe neighborhood,” he said, adding that he goes jogging down Lotus almost every day. “I’m surprised to see this going on.”