Irina and Kevin McCarthy, aged 35 and 37, leave behind a two-year-old son.
The quiet, prosperous town of Highland Park, Illinois was plunged into despair on July 4 when a shooter attacked the July 4 parade with a high-powered rifle. Six people were killed on the scene, and a seventh lost their life later in the hospital. Six of the seven dead have now been named. Here’s what we know about them so far.
Irina and Kevin McCarthy
Irina and Kevin McCarthy, aged 35 and 37, leave behind a two-year-old son. The toddler, Aiden, was unharmed and will be looked after by his family.
According to a GoFundMe page set up to support him, “Aiden is left in the unthinkable position; to grow up without his parents. He will have a long road ahead to heal, find stability, and ultimately navigate life as an orphan. He is surrounded by a community of friends and extended family that will embrace him with love, and any means available to ensure he has everything he needs as he grows.”
Irina’s father told the Chicago Sun-Times that Kevin died shielding his son from the bullets.
“He had Aiden under his body when he was shot,” said Michael Levberg. When he picked Aiden up from the Highland Park police station hours later, Aiden apparently told him: “Mommy and Daddy are coming soon.”
Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza
Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza, 78, had reportedly been visiting his family in Highland Park from Mexico. He didn’t want to attend the parade, but had to be around people all the time due to his disabilities. According to the New York Times, he was shot three times while sitting in his wheelchair. He leaves behind eight children, and many more grandchildren. Three members of his family were also injured in Monday’s attack.
“We brought him over here so he could have a better life,” Xochil Toledo, his granddaughter, told the Times. “His sons wanted to take care of him and be more in his life, and then this tragedy happened.”
Toledo’s family has set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for his memorial. “What was suppose(d) to be a fun family day turned into a horrific nightmare for us all,” it reads. “As a family we are broken, and numb.”
Katherine Goldstein
Katherine Goldstein, 64, was with her daughter when she was killed. Cassie Goldstein, 22, said the pair were fleeing the scene when she became aware that her mother had been hit by a bullet.
“I was standing there with my mom, and I heard what I thought were firecrackers firing into the street across from me. And then I looked up and I saw the shooter shooting down at the kids,” Cassie told NBC. “And I told her that it was a shooter and that she had to run.”
“I knew she was dead,” Cassie continued. “I just told her that I loved her, but I couldn’t stop, because he was still shooting everyone next to me.”
Jacquelyn Sundheim
Jacki Sundheim was named by her synagogue shortly after the attack. The former preschool teacher was 63 years old, and had been a lifelong member of her congregation.
“Jacki’s work, kindness and warmth touched us all, from her early days teaching at the Gates of Learning Preschool to guiding innumerable among us through life’s moments of joy and sorrow as our Events and B’nei Mitzvah Coordinator– all of this with tireless dedication,” the statement from North Shore Congregation Israel reads.
“There are no words sufficient to express the depth of our grief.”
“We know you join us in the deepest prayer that Jacki’s soul will be bound up in the shelter of God’s wings and her family will somehow find comfort and consolation amidst this boundless grief.”
Jacki’s nephew, Luke Sundheim, wrote on Facebook: “If you knew Jacki you’d know that she was one of the kindest people you’d ever meet and she went out of her way to help anyone. “The world lost a truly special person and I’m both furious and incredibly sad that I won’t be able to spend any more time with her. I love America, but this can not keep happening to innocent loving people.”
Stephen Straus
Stephen Straus, 88, was still a vibrant man when he died, who, according to his family, had been “very excited” to watch Monday’s parade.
“He was very active, he enjoyed life,” his grandson Maxwell Straus, 18, told CNN. “He attended music festivals, loved to get outside, and biked into his 80s.”
Another grandson, 20-year-old Tobias Straus, highlighted the unique circumstances that he believes contributed to his grandfather’s death.
“He had a lot of life left in him, he was not ready to go by any means,” he told CNN. “This just doesn’t happen in other places, and I have no doubt that if America had better gun control my grandfather would be alive.”
“The gun lobby and America’s cultural worship of guns is deadly. It kills grandfathers,” he added.
