A mother of two died Tuesday after being shot over the weekend in a brazen attack during the Puerto Rican Day Parade in Humboldt Park that left her boyfriend dead.
Yasmin Perez, 23, and her boyfriend, 24-year-old Gyovanni Arzuaga, were driving in the 3200 block of West Division Saturday night when they were involved in a minor crash and were ambushed, according to Chicago police.
Several people beat Perez and then shot her, according to Chief of Detectives Brendan Deenihan. When Arzuaga came to her aid, he was shot by a second person “almost execution style,” Deenihan said.
Video shows the couple lying in the street next to their car as the attackers ran off.
Arzuaga was taken to Saints Mary and Elizabeth Medical Center and pronounced dead, while Perez was rushed to Stroger Hospital in critical condition. Perez died there Tuesday morning, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
Perez had lived in suburban Hanover Park and had two children with Arzuaga.
Aimee Clare, an attorney representing Perez’s family, confirmed her death. The family declined to comment and asked for privacy, but Clare said they believe the police investigation should run its course.
On Monday, Mayor Lori Lightfoot vowed to track down those involved in the “horrific” shooting, which was captured on surveillance video that was circulated widely online and in the media.
“There’s one person who dealt the fatal shot. But there were others who were standing by who dragged that poor woman out of the car,” the mayor said. “The man who was killed literally used his body as a shield and paid for that with his life.”
Lightfoot said police have “promising leads” and have identified the suspected shooter. The mayor also had a warning for those with the gunman.
“You need to turn yourself in because we are going to spare no resource whatsoever to find them and you and bring you to justice and make sure that these people who created such brazen chaos and harm are held in custody until they see their day in court,” she said.
But as of Tuesday afternoon, police said no arrests had been made.
A memorial for Arzuaga was set up Sunday near the shooting scene, and a GoFundMe page was created to cover their funeral costs. It has raised over $30,000.
