Chicago shooting: East Side family seeks justice for beloved man with autism
CHICAGO (CBS) – A family is on the hunt for a killer on Chicago's South Side. Antonio Avelar was shot and killed while hosting a yard sale to help support his family.
Only on 2, you'll see the ring video that captured the final moments of his life. CBS 2's Marissa Perlman spoke with the heartbroken family from the East Side neighborhood.
You can hear it in the voice of a heartbroken mother with a bible in her hand. Ignacia Avelar has words for whoever killed her son Antonio, 30.
"You can hide all you want from the people here who loved him, but from God, no one hides from God," she said in Spanish.
Alongside her husband and her daughter, Ignacia begged for the community to come forward with information that could lead them to justice.
"He was an example of how every young man should be honest, fair, humble, kind, full of life, a good smile," said Anallely Avelar, Antiono's sister.
On Avenue O on Chicago's East Side neighborhood, Ring video camera from May 17 shows what he was doing just before 6 p.m. moments before he was killed. To earn extra cash for his family, he'd collect scrap and sell it on his front yard.
Just before 5 p.m., you see Avelar moving supplies from his family garage to the front yard on the corner.
On another neighbor's surveillance video from around the block, two gunshots are heard going off. The video then shows Avelar on the ground outside of his garage before neighbors rushed over to help. The camera, operated by motion sensors, didn't catch the shooting or the suspect on video. Police arrived in about three minutes and an ambulance was there in five minutes.
Avelar was rushed to the hospital where he died. His cell phone was found two blocks away. Whoever shot him left his wallet and money.
"We want criminals to pay," said his sister.
Avelar lived around the corner from where he took his last breath. His family said he was a bright light and well-known to the community. They said he was a man who lived with autism, who loved church, and was his family's greatest gift.
"My brother was everything," she said. "My best friend, my role model. I looked up to him but now he's dead."
Police and the family are calling on the community to bring any information that could lead to an arrest. District 4 is hosting a faith-based gathering called "Praying for a Breakthrough" next Friday.
