Over the weekend, three people were killed, and a woman was critically injured during a birthday celebration gone wrong near a Belmont Cragin institution.
The incident, according to the authorities, took at around 2:30 a.m. on Sunday in the 3200 block of North Central Avenue, not far from the Vera Lounge.
It was stated that an argument turned violent, and that three people were killed in the ensuing gunshots.
Mariah Vera, 25, who was celebrating her birthday when the incident occurred, is in critical condition.
Luis Ortiz had known the deceased shooter, Rick Vera, and his daughter, Mariah Vera, from their time together at a Belmont Cragin HVAC distributor.
“Rick and Mariah have always shared a special father-daughter bond. Very put-together, he aspired for her to be among the best ladies in the HVAC field. “His words.
Those close to Ortiz describe Rick as family and the critically ill Mariah as Rick’s protege. He claimed that the two of them were often found together on roofs where they would solder.
“In his mind, nothing but the best would do for Mariah. He had high hopes for her as a future leader of the organization.
She didn’t have any restrictions imposed on her because she was a woman. She was capable of doing the same things we were.”
They were celebrating Mariah’s 25th birthday with family and friends at her uncle’s bar, the Vera Lounge, on north Central avenue and School street early on a Sunday morning.
The Chicago Police Department has stated that a confrontation that began inside the pub and moved outside. The situation escalated, and four individuals were shot.
Rick, age 50, was shot in the head and later pronounced dead. Another casualty was Mercedes Tavares, a 24-year-old mother of three, and a third was Mario Pozuelos, a 26-year-old.
“He, too, was going through a lot. Just so he might lend a hand, “According to Pozuelos’s buddy, Zoey Thiemann.
“Simply put, he was a wonderful human being who was in the process of putting his life in order. Unfortunately for him, he fell victim to theft too soon.”
Ortiz’s family and coworkers in the HVAC industry have created an online campaign to help pay for his medical and last expenses.
“For sure, Rick would have been pitching in to assist out. To put it simply, I’m trying to act in a way that Rick would have. “That’s what he had to say, he clarified.
Source: NBC Chicago
