Now, another community in America is mourning the loss of family and friends: among them, the parents of a 2-year-old boy.
Irina and Kevin McCarthy, ages 35 and 37, were identified by the Lake County Forensic Office Tuesday. Her son, Aiden, was found alive and taken to a safe place after the violence, the family told CNN.
Katherine Goldstein, 64, of Highland Park; Jacquelyn Sundheim, 63, of Highland Park; Stephen Straus, 88, of Highland Park; and Nicolas Toledo-Saragoza, 78, of Morelos, Mexico, were the other four victims identified. A seventh victim died at a hospital outside Lake County, according to the coroner’s office.
In all, about 45 people were injured or killed in the shooting, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
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Here’s what we know about lost lives:
Irina and Kevin McCarthy
Irina and Kevin McCarthy, who died in the shooting, are the parents of a child who was found alive, according to a family member.
Irina Colon, who was related to Irina McCarthy, shared an undated photo with CNN of the couple at their wedding in Chicago.
Colon said he was not at the parade and learned of the couple’s death from Irina McCarthy’s father. The couple’s 2-year-old son, Aiden, will now be cared for by family members, Colon said.
A verified GoFundMe campaign that Colon started said that after the violence, community members took the toddler to a safe place before his grandparents were located.
“At two years old, Aiden is left in an unthinkable position: growing up without his parents,” the campaign said. “Aiden will be cared for by his beloved family and will have a long way to go to heal, find stability and finally navigate life as an orphan. He is surrounded by a community of friends and an extended family that l “will embrace with love. and any means available to make sure you have everything you need as you grow.”
“On behalf of his family, and with his permission, I am setting up this fundraiser to support him and the caregivers who will be tasked with raising, caring for and supporting Aiden while he and his support system embark on this unexpected journey “. added.
The GoFundMe page had raised more than $ 820,000 on Tuesday evening.
Jacki Sundheim
Jacki Sundheim was also identified by her synagogue as one of the murdered people.
The North Shore Congregation Israel in Glencoe said in a statement that Sundheim was a lifelong congregant and staff member, having been a preschool teacher and event coordinator.
“There are not enough words to express the depth of our grief over Jacki’s death and her sympathy for her family and loved ones,” the statement says. “We know that you join us in the deepest prayer for Jacki’s soul to be tied to the shelter of God’s wings and her family will somehow find solace and comfort in the midst of this limitless pain.”
Nicolas Toledo
The father of eight and grandfather of many, Nicolas Toledo had been visiting his family in Highland Park from Mexico and was identified as the victim of Monday’s shooting, a Morelos state official told CNN.
Mexican officials issued a press release identifying Toledo as Nicolas “N,” a common practice in Mexico where authorities use “N” for any surname in official documents, in accordance with a human rights and protection law. the intimacy of the victims.
Toledo enjoyed fishing, painting, and walking with his family in the park, one of his granddaughters, Kimberly Rangel, told CNN affiliate WBBM. The Toledo family created a GoFundMe page to raise money to repatriate him to Mexico.
“What was supposed to be a fun family day turned into a horrible nightmare for everyone,” wrote GoFundMe organizer and another granddaughter, Xochil Toledo. “As a family we are broken and asleep.”
He described his grandfather as a “loving man” who was “creative, adventurous and fun.”
Six of Toledo’s eight children live in the United States, according to a statement from Mexican authorities. One was injured in the shooting along with two other members of the Toledo family.
Stephen Straus
Stephen Straus, the 88-year-old man identified by authorities as one of the victims, was full of life, his grandchildren said.
“He was very active, he enjoyed life,” Maxwell Straus, 18, told CNN. “He attended music festivals, he loved going out on the street and he rode his bike until the ’80s.”
He said his grandfather had recently mentioned that he was going to the parade and was “very excited.”
When news broke about the shooting, Maxwell’s father became worried long after Stephen Straus did not pick up the phone. A few hours later, the hospital called to confirm his death.
“It was shocking, hard to imagine,” Maxwell Straus said.
Tobias Straus, 20, told CNN that hearing the news of his grandfather’s death was “the worst thing imaginable.”
“He had a lot of life left in him, he wasn’t ready to go there in any way,” Tobias Straus said. “This doesn’t happen elsewhere, and I have no doubt that if America had better gun control, my grandfather would be alive.”
“The gun lobby and the U.S. cultural cult of guns are deadly. It kills grandparents,” he added.
Straus’ grandchildren told CNN they had a close relationship with their grandfather and would see him almost every Sunday, for the usual family dinner.
Another man fighting for his life
Eduardo Uvaldo, a 69-year-old man who was shot, was without life support and was fighting for his life at Evanston Hospital, his daughter told CNN Tuesday.
“Doctors said there is nothing they can do,” Karina Uvaldo-Méndez said, but added that her father was still breathing alone. “We need everyone to keep us in their prayers.”
Uvaldo was shot in the arm and then in the back of the head, according to a verified GoFundMe campaign. His wife and grandson were also injured, Uvaldo-Mendez said.
Uvaldo-Méndez told CNN that her mother was hit with bullet fragments in her forehead and hand and added that while she was physically well, “emotionally, she is dismayed.”
Eduardo Uvaldo and his wife celebrated 50 years of marriage a few months ago, his daughter said, adding that “her four daughters and my mother were everything.”
Uvaldo-Méndez described his father as a worker: from time to time he liked to remind his daughters that he worked for 30 years and that he didn’t miss a single day, he said.
He tended to avoid parades because he didn’t like crowds, he said, but he liked the one in Highland Park and was the only one he attended annually.
Friday will be 70 years old, her daughter said.
Another facility, Highland Park Hospital, received 26 patients, Dr. Brigham Temple, medical director of the NorthShore University Health System.
The patients were between 8 and 85 years old, and four or five were children, Temple said.
Barbara Medina, 46, was also injured, not by gunfire, but by the stampede when people fled the area in an effort to escape the chaos.
Medina was walking to the parade when she heard gunshots, she told CNN. A sea of people rushed towards her, so she dropped a banner she was holding, grabbed her 7-year-old daughter and her scooter and ran. She was separated from her 12-year-old son and father.
At one point, Medina tripped over her scooter and fell into her left arm. It wasn’t until hours later, and after arriving at a safe place with her daughter and learning that her son and father were also safe, Medina went to a medical center and was diagnosed with a radius. broken proximal.
“I’m grateful we’re all safe,” he said. “It will be a long healing process.”
CNN’s Amanda Musa, Chris Boyette, Ana Melgar Zuniga, Fidel Gutiérrez, Eric Levenson and David Williams contributed to this report.