Family members of a 20-year-old man who was killed in a shooting in Chicago's Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood over the weekend said the young man had promising future ahead of him and was a mentor to youths in his community.
"My nephew was a good kid. He was not a stereotype," Belinda Moore, the victim's aunt, told NBC Chicago. "He was a good kid."
Joshua Moore, 20, was fatally shot while walking with a 21-year-old man at about 10:15 p.m. Saturday in the 1100 block of East 73rd Street. Police said a man exited a black car nearby and opened fire on the pair.
Moore's family said he was on his way home after meeting with a few friends.
Both men were transported to Northwestern Memorial Hospital after the shooting, police said. Moore suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the chest and was later pronounced dead. The other man was shot in the left leg.
Moore's family identified him as the fatal shooting victim Sunday morning. His aunt said he attended Gary Comer College Prep and later transferred to Hyde Park Academy, where he graduated.
Moore worked at a towing company and secured his own apartment just a few months ago, his aunt said.
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"Right now we're just numb to the fact that he's no longer here," Belinda Moore said. "There was a village raising him and he just caught the wrong time."
His family and friends say he was "independent" and had a promising future. Orlandus Thomas, one of Moore's teachers at Hyde Park Academy, said Moore got off track briefly, but his family and friends kept him guided and focused.
"It's really sad to see the potential taken away from him," Thomas said.
Moore was also involved in several programs at the Gary Comer Youth Center, including Thomas' male mentoring group.
"It went from knowing this person who was a humorous person to a person who knew so much for his age, just wise beyond his years," Thomas said.
