A year and a half later, shooter who killed 3-year-old Chicago boy in road rage incident still walks free
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Back in September 2022, a 3-year-old boy was shot and killed in a road rage incident his from which his mom was trying to get away.
Nearly a year and a half later, police still haven't found Mateo Zastro's killer. But his family hopes a reward now being offered by Cook County Crime Stoppers will make a difference.
On Sept. 30, 2022, Veronica Zastro was trying to flee from the other vehicle after a confrontation at 71st Street and Cicero Avenue, but the other vehicle followed her and caught up to them in the 4400 block of West Marquette Road, or 67th Street.
Someone fired up to six rounds into the family's sport-utility vehicle as Zastro drove with Mateo and his three siblings.
A single bullet pierced Mateo in the head in front of his siblings and mom. She stopped the car near Pulaski and Marquette roads.
"I get emotional every time I am driving and I see it," said Veronica Zastro.
Mateo is forever in his mother's heart, and his visage is tattooed on her arm.
"It's kind of like he's here," Zastro said. "He was very energetic, very lovable."
Mateo had just learned how to swim – and he loved dinosaurs and his family.
While this is her favorite image of her little boy is the one showing him with long hair and a child's innocent face, as appears in her tattoo. But there is another one she can't get out of her head - no matter how hard she tries.
"If I look in my rearview mirror, I think like, I see my baby's face," Zastro said. "Like I get flashbacks from that night."
Following the horrific shooting that killed Mateo, the community rallied – knocking on doors and coming together in prayer and in Mateo's memory.
Still now, Mateo's name can be found as an honorary street name for the family's block of Kildare Avenue just a short distance where he was shot. His face also appears all over their neighborhood – it is even painted on the neighborhood corner store.
But the person who killed him still walks free.
"I'm not going to give up on getting my baby justice," Zastro said.
But after all this time, Zastro said she worries.
The Cook County Crime Stoppers are now stepping in now to help - offering a cash reward of up to $15,000 for information leading to the indictment or arrest of the person responsible.
Zastro is hopeful that there will be results.
"Because if it was their loved ones, they would want us to help them out," Zastro said. "My baby was only 3 years old. He didn't even get to make it to his 4th birthday."
Cook County Crime stoppers will be distributing the flyer for Mateo on Saturday afternoon in the 4400 block of West Marquette Road, where the shots were fired that struck him.
Homicide Zastro by Adam Harrington on Scribd
Police said the case remains open and is being investigated by Wentworth Area detectives.