Police: Woman killed when gun accidentally goes off in Portage Park

A woman was killed Saturday night when a gun accidentally discharged inside a Portage Park neighborhood home on the Northwest Side, police said.

About 10 p.m., 21-year-old Nadia Manjarrez and a 37-year-old man were inside a home in the 4800 block of West Hutchinson when the gun went off, according to Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Manjarrez, who lived in the neighborhood, was shot in the head and taken to Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead at 10:50 p.m., authorities said.

On a GoFundMe page set up to help with funeral expenses, her mother, Irma Martinez, wrote: Nadia “was the best of daughters beautiful, very noble, happy always made us laugh had the best of smiles, very friendly. Would never end how good and special it was for me and her brothers. She had many plans in the future, wanted to be a teacher, and she did not have to die this way, my daughter.”

An autopsy Sunday did not rule on her cause and manner of death pending further investigation, the medical examiner’s office said.

The gun was recovered and the man, identified by friends and the local alderman as Manjarrez’ boyfriend, was initially detained for questioning, police said. As of Tuesday morning, the man had been released without charges and Area North detectives were investigating.

In a Facebook post, Ald. John Arena (45th) wrote: “Over the weekend, Nadia Manjarrez was fatally wounded after her boyfriend allegedly shot her by accident. My sincerest condolences go out to Nadia’s friends and family as they grieve the loss of their loved one. The incident is still under investigation, and I am in communications with the police as they gather more intelligence about what transpired to cause this senseless and avoidable death.

“It is one of two fatalities that occurred this past weekend in our city due to careless handling of a firearm. In the wake of this tragedy, I want to remind residents of the best practices for handling and securing firearms. These powerful weapons should be treated with the same level of consideration for the amount of damage that they can cause.”