FRANKLIN PARK, Illinois: Rudy Repa, a 27-year-old resident of Franklin Park, Illinois, placed a single marigold at a makeshift memorial near the spot where a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer fatally shot a man from Mexico during an attempted arrest in the Chicago suburb.
The US Department of Homeland Security said an officer shot Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez, 38, during a traffic stop on Friday in Franklin Park. In a statement, the agency said Villegas-Gonzalez was in the country illegally and had attempted to flee in his car, dragging and injuring the officer.
The death of Villegas-Gonzalez has angered community members like Repa and heightened safety fears among the region’s Latino residents.
On Saturday, about 100 people, including Repa, turned out for a vigil for Villegas-Gonzalez in Franklin Park, a community in which around half of the residents are Hispanic or Latino.
“I’m incredibly mad and I want justice for our community,” said Repa.
