Man Slain In Beecher Only On Job 2 Days
HAMMOND, IND. (CBS) - It was a normal day on the job for a Northwest Indiana man. He was rehabbing a home in the suburbs. But the father of 10, Rolando Alonso, was shot and killed by a stranger. Police are still looking for that gunman.
CBS 2's Suzanne Le Mignot sat down Wednesday with Alonso's wife.
Claudia Gonzalez says she had the perfect life with her husband. When they met, each had four children. Then, they had two children together. She says he was a devoted husband and father who was taken away from all of them, in an instant.
"It's very hard for me, I can't imagine my life without him and my kids. It's too hard for me," she said.
Gonzalez says he was only at work for two days before the shooting.
"He was excited about this job because he wanted a new job," she said.
Alonso, 45, of Hammond, Ind., was among three construction workers rehabbing a fire-damaged home near Beecher, Ill. Police say a man shot Alonso in the head, killing him. A 19-year-old co-worker, Joshua Garza, was wounded.
Gonzalez says she spoke to her husband an hour and 15 minutes before he was shot.
"He called me and he told me, 'I just called you to tell you I love you. Take care and God bless you,'" she said.
That was the last time she talked to him.
"He told me he had to climb a roof or something, he had to climb something to get a signal, so he could tell me those words. And that was the last words," she said.
As Alonso's family is in mourning, the manhunt continues for the gunman. He is a white man in his 30's or 40's. He's heavyset, between 5'10'' and 6' tall, weighing between 220 and 260 pounds. Police say he looked disheveled when he was last seen, wearing a greenish blue jacket, baseball hat and light-colored jeans.
"I just want that person, who did that to my husband. I have nothing against him, all I want is for them to find him, so this doesn't happen to another family," said Gonzalez.
Joshua Garza remains hospitalized in critical condition.
The victim from the second shooting carried out by the gunman in Lowell, Ind. is being treated at a Crown Point hospital. He is expected to be OK.
