Now another community in America is mourning the loss of family and friends, including the parents of a 2-year-old boy.
Irina and Kevin McCarthy, ages 35 and 37, were identified Tuesday by the Lake County Coroner’s Office. Their son Aiden was found alive and taken to safety after the violence, the family told CNN.
Katherine Goldstein, 64, of Highland Park; Jacquelyn Sundheim, 63, of Highland Park; Stephen Straus, 88, of Highland Park; and Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza, 78, of Morelos, Mexico, were the four other identified victims. A seventh victim died at a hospital outside of Lake County, according to the Coroner’s Office.
In all, about 45 people were injured or killed in the shooting, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
Full coverage of the shooting
Here’s what we know about the lives lost:
Irina and Kevin McCarthy
Irina and Kevin McCarthy, who were killed in the shooting, are the parents of a toddler who was found alive, according to a family member.
Irina Colon, who was related to Irina McCarthy, shared an undated photo of the couple at their wedding in Chicago with CNN.
Colon said she was not at the parade and learned of the couple’s deaths from Irina McCarthy’s father. The couple’s two-year-old son, Aiden, is now being cared for by family members, Colon said.
A verified GoFundMe campaign started by Colon says the young child was taken to safety after the violence by members of the community before his grandparents were found.
“At two years old, Aiden is in the unthinkable position of growing up without his parents,” the campaign reads. “Cared for by his loving family, Aiden will have a long road ahead of him to heal, find stability, and eventually navigate life as an orphan. He is surrounded by a community of friends and extended family who will embrace him with love. and all available resources to ensure he has everything he needs as he grows.”
“On behalf of his family and with their permission, I am establishing this fundraiser to support him and the caregivers tasked with raising, caring for and supporting Aiden as he and his support system embark on this unexpected journey.” added it.
The GoFundMe page had raised more than $820,000 as of Tuesday night.
Jacki Sundheim
Jacki Sundheim was also identified by her synagogue as one of those killed.
North Shore Congregation Israel in Glencoe said in a statement that Sundheim was a lifelong parishioner and staff member, having been a preschool teacher and events coordinator.
“There are no words sufficient to express the depth of our sadness at Jacki’s death and our condolences to her family and loved ones,” the statement said. “We know you join us in our deepest prayers that Jacki’s soul will be bound within the protection of God’s wings and that her family will find some comfort and comfort amid this boundless grief.”
Nicholas Toledo
Nicolas Toledo, father of eight children and grandfather to many, had been visiting family in Highland Park from Mexico and was identified as a victim of Monday’s shooting, a Morelos state official told CNN.
Mexican officials issued a press release identifying Toledo as Nicolas “N,” a common practice in Mexico where authorities use “N” for any surname on official documents, under a law protecting human rights and protecting the privacy of victims.
Toledo loved fishing, painting and walking in the park with his family, one of his granddaughters, Kimberly Rangel, told CNN affiliate WBBM. Toledo’s family set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for his repatriation to Mexico.
“What was supposed to be a fun family day turned into a terrible nightmare for all of us,” wrote GoFundMe organizer and another granddaughter, Xochil Toledo. “As a family, we are broken and deaf.”
She described her grandfather as a “loving man” who was “creative, adventurous and funny.”
Six of Toledo’s eight children live in the United States, according to Mexican authorities. One was injured in the shooting along with two other members of the Toledo family.
Stefan Strauss
Stephen Straus, the 88-year-old man identified by authorities as one of the victims, was full of life, his grandchildren said.
“He was very active, he enjoyed life,” Maxwell Straus, 18, told CNN. “He attended music festivals, enjoyed being outdoors, and rode bikes well into his 80s.”
He said his grandfather recently mentioned he was going to the parade and was “very excited”.
When news of the shooting broke, Maxwell’s father became very concerned after Stephen Straus didn’t answer the phone. A few hours later, the hospital called to confirm his death.
“It was shocking, hard to imagine,” Maxwell Straus said.
Tobias Straus, 20, told CNN the news of his grandfather’s death was “the worst thing you can imagine.”
“He still had a lot of life in him, he was definitely not ready to go,” said Tobias Straus. “That just doesn’t happen in other places, and I have no doubt that if America had better gun control, my grandfather would be alive.”
“The gun lobby and America’s cultural worship of guns is deadly. She kills grandfathers,” he added.
Straus’ grandchildren told CNN they have a close relationship with their grandfather and see him almost every Sunday — for the usual family dinner.
Another man fighting for his life
Eduardo Uvaldo, a 69-year-old man who was shot, was off life support and fighting for his life at Evanston Hospital, his daughter told CNN on Tuesday.
“The doctors said there was nothing they could do,” Karina Uvaldo-Mendez said, adding that her father was still breathing on his own. “We need everyone to keep us in their prayers.”
Uvaldo was shot in the arm and then in the back of the head, according to a verified GoFundMe campaign. His wife and grandson were also injured, Uvaldo-Mendez said.
Uvaldo-Mendez told CNN that her mother was hit in the forehead and hand by bullet fragments, adding that while she was fine physically, she was “emotionally upset.”
Eduardo Uvaldo and his wife celebrated 50 years of marriage a few months ago, his daughter said, adding: “His four daughters and my mother were his everything.”
Uvaldo-Mendez described her father as hard-working: From time to time he liked to remind his daughters that he had worked for 30 years and never missed a day, she said.
He tends to avoid parades because he doesn’t like crowds, she said – but he liked the one at Highland Park and it was the only one he attended annually.
His daughter said he would be 70 on Friday.
Another facility, Highland Park Hospital, admitted 26 patients, Dr. Brigham Temple, the medical director of NorthShore University’s health system.
The patients ranged in age from 8 to 85 years, and four or five were children, Temple said.
Barbara Medina, 46, was also injured – not from gunfire but from the onslaught as people fled the area to escape the chaos.
Medina was marching in the parade when she heard gunfire, she told CNN. A sea of people was rushing towards her, so she dropped a banner she was holding, grabbed her 7-year-old daughter and her scooter, and ran. She was separated from her 12-year-old son and her father.
Once, Medina tripped over her scooter and fell on her left arm. It wasn’t until hours later – and after she got to safety with her daughter and learned that her son and father were also safe – that Medina went to a medical facility and was diagnosed with a fractured proximal radius.
“I’m just grateful that we’re all safe,” she said. “It will be a long healing process.”
CNN’s Amanda Musa, Chris Boyette, Ana Melgar Zuniga, Fidel Gutierrez, Eric Levenson and David Williams contributed to this report.
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