'Now they're without a father and a mother and brother and sister': Uncle caring for surviving children in deadly Oak Forest shooting, barricade situation
OAK FOREST, Ill. (CBS) -- After a mother and her two children were shot and killed outside their family home in Oak Forest, their uncle is stepping up to take care of the mother's two surviving children.
CBS 2's Jackie Kostek spoke with the man whose sister was killed Friday, and he said the only thing stronger than his sadness is his shock.
Nick Navarez is the younger brother of Lupe Gomez, who was a mother of four. When she and two of her children were shot and killed outside their home, Navarez got a call from one of his nieces saying she needed help. It was around 6:45 Friday morning.
"She Facetimed me and when she Facetimed me, I see flames coming out the front window, and I was in shock," he said.
Navarez immediately left work and went to the home on Ann Marie Lane where he had recently lived with his sister's family. By the time he arrived, the neighborhood was blocked off by police, fire and SWAT. Oak Forest Police said two people were found shot in the driveway of the home and one in the street just to the south. They said the suspected gunman, 44-year-old Carlos Gomez Jr., was found dead inside the home after the fire was put out.
Navarez said his two younger nieces, both Gomez's biological children, survived. One escaped before the shooting, and the other was pulled out of the home later.
"Thanks to the neighbor that opened the door for my niece. If not, she probably would've died also," Navarez said.
He shared a photo of his sister's family. It shows Lupe, 43 years old, with her four children. Emilio Rodriquez, 20, and Briana Rodriquez, 22, children from a previous marriage, were both victims of Friday's horror. Navarez said they were good kids and recent high school graduates. He described them as innocent and close to their younger siblings.
"They were working," he said. "Always stayed home. Not the kids that stayed out, they were always home after work doing chores. I lived with them so I know how they were."
Navarez described his sister's relationship with Gomez Jr. as "bad. He said she was preparing to leave.
"I feel that he lost control of her, and that's what did it because she had lawyers involved, paperwork. She was ready to leave," he said.
And then this happened, a nightmare he says he can't wake up from.
"It's really hard. I'm trying to be strong for my nieces," he said. "Now they're without a father and a mother and brother and sister. Now, I have to step up to the plate and try to be there for them. It's going to be a big change. With everybody's help, I think it's possible."
Navarez said he has both nieces in his care now. He said one niece turned 13 Saturday. The other is just 15 years old.
He started a GoFundMe Friday night to help support his family in this time.