Grandfather from Mexico visiting family among the Highland Park parade mass shooting victims: "Horrific nightmare"

A grandfather visiting his family was among the six people killed Monday when a gunman opened fire at a Fourth of July parade in suburban Chicago, his family said.

The family of Nicolas Toledo told CBS Chicago he was one of those shot and killed during the mass shooting in Highland Park. Toledo was from Mexico and had been visiting his family in the area for about the past month.

Kimberly Rangel, Toledo's granddaughter, said her grandfather was in his late 70s, loved to go fishing, paint, and go on walks with his family in the park.

She said her mother had called her through tears to tell her Toledo had been shot and killed.

"We are all feeling pretty numb," Rangel said. "We're all pretty broken inside."

The family said Toledo had also met and was beginning to form a bond with his great-granddaughter.

"I would just say to like hold your family tight while you can, while you still have them," Rangel said. "Like I said we didn't expect this to happen so close to home and it did. And it's not just my family affected. There are so many other families affected by this and I just hope everyone hold your family tight tonight."

Other family members of Toledo were injured during the shooting, but they are expected to survive.

On a GoFundMe page, the family said Toledo, a father of eight, "left us this morning July 4th, what was supposed to be a fun family day turned into a horrific nightmare for us all."

Another granddaughter, Xochil Toledo, told the Chicago Sun-Times that her father tried to shield her grandfather and was shot in the arm; her boyfriend also was shot in the back.

"He was the one who saved all of our lives. It would have gone to me, my boyfriend or my cousins," she told the newspaper.

In:
• Highland Park