A United States Army veteran was shot in the face in the early hours of Tuesday while walking his dog in Illinois.
According to Chicago police, a man 740 years old was found on a street in Little Village with a gunshot wound to the face, and was taken to Mt. Sinai Hospital, where he died moments after later.
The next of kin identified the victim as Jason Benítez, who was an army veteran who had just returned to the country after serving four years in South Korea.
“He served his country and that’s how we paid. This is how we paid him when he returned from the service, “lamented Alfredo Benítez, Jason’s father, in statements collected by ABC7 Chicago.
Jason’s father had just come home from his second job and was walking his dog down the block from their house when his father said he was ambushed outside a corner laundromat.
“Just because you wear a hoodie doesn’t mean you’re a gang member. It’s cold outside,” said Alfredo Benítez.
Jason’s father specified that the police stopped his roommate who was going to work and wanted to know whose dog it was, and showed him a photo of his son, who was lying on the floor after being shot. The victim had no identification.
Alfredo Benítez added that investigators are trying to obtain images of nearby surveillance cameras to try to have evidence showing who or who were the people who killed Jason.
The authorities are offering a reward of $, dollars for information leading to the arrest of those responsible.
The family of the victim is currently raising funds through Gofundme to cover the funeral expenses.
The campaign through the crowdfunding platform was created with a goal of $12,000 Dollars. As of Saturday night, $5,740 dollars have been raised.