Murder Victim David Diaz's Father Fears Killers Will Get Away, Says Elected Leaders 'Have Taken Away Those Consequences'
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The father of a murder victim reached out to CBS 2 with a heartbreaking plea: please show the face of his son, David Diaz, and share his name to let people know he was more than just another number in the growing crime stats.
Morning Insider Tim McNicholas took him up on that.
It's a walk no father wants to take. Carlos Diaz moves past the flowers and flags, past rows of enduring epitaphs etched in stone, to the spot where his own son was buried earlier this week.
"So young, 34 years old. Something that I never ever in my life imagined," he said.
But the unimaginable became reality the morning of September 27th.
Police say someone in a dark car started shooting at a group of people on the sidewalk of the 800 block of North Ridgeway. They shot four people, killing David and wounding three other people.
"Here he is, the prime of his life," Carlos said. "My son was awesome. He was a city boy. He grew up here. He'd do anything for anybody. Whatever he had he would share."
Carlos heard on the news that his son was one of more than 60 shooting victims in Chicago that weekend, nine who died.
"It's not just somebody who died, or nine got killed. No, nine were murdered, and they're nine human beings. They're somebody's brother, sister, father," Carlos said.
One of the hardest parts—going to the medical examiner's office to identify his son, but even that's not as tough as the questions swirling in his head.
Chicago Police said they have not made any arrests, but they're still investigating. In fact, they're asking people to submit tips in the case online anonymously.
"I've never heard from anybody that was actually there, or from anybody else that has any facts about what actually happened, or who did this, or why they did it," Carlos said.
Without us even asking, Carlos brought up another topic that's made headlines this week; a topic top of mind for people all over Chicago: arrests and prosecutions.
"There's consequences for actions. And I feel that the city leaders, the county leaders, even as far as the governor, have taken away those consequences," Carlos said. "The precedent that they're setting is that you can get away with it."
Now he fears his son's killer will get away with it; as in, not just the shooting, but the heartache they caused.
"It's like a dream, that's a bad dream," Carlos said.
