The Chicago streets claimed another life last night when Little Village resident, 16-year-old Roky Uriostegui, was shot by an alleged gang member on the 2600 block of West 23rd Place.
According to the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times, the area has a problem with gangs– the Satan’s Disciples and the Latin Kings in particular. Still, it is unclear whether Uriostegui was in a gang or not.
Following events like this the inevitable question always arises: Was the victim a gang member? Just look at the headline in the Chicago Sun-Times: ‘Innocent kid’ slain in Little Village shooting. Granted, the quotation marks are used to indicate an actual quote, but my initial response to the headline was: “Well, aren’t we snarky?”
Still, the media is not the only group wondering about the boy’s innocence; Chicago residents are asking the same question.
On a message board today, one young woman asserted:
Roky was not in a gang! I know this because I was a personal friend of his! Kids should look at this story and take in consideration how dangerous gangs really are, and how far they are willing to go!
Others were not so sure, like this local man:
Very sad for this young lad, but articles like this usually always state that the kid was great, straight A’s, and then they show his 8th grade graduation picture on the news. Most of the time this is not mistaken identity but the boy was usually a gang member or hanging with them.
The question is: Does it make a difference one way or the other?
Now readers, I want your opinion. Do you think it matters if Uriostegui was in a gang or not?
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The journalist in me wants to say yes, it does matter. It’s news if he was an “innocent kid” caught in crossfire. (Remember the Methods news-ranking exercise? FIVE gang-related deaths were relegated to what, 4th place?)
The PERSON in me would like to think, no it doesn’t matter. A kid died. It’s sad. It’s news.
Hmmm, but is it always? In a city that has as much crime as Chicago, is it always news? People always complain about the evening news being nothing but death and depression. What would happen, then, if we actually reported every unnatural death in Chicago every day?
No Roky was not in any gang. Sure he was a little troublemaker because me and him grew up as we were kids. We lived close…
Its just not him to be in any gang activity.
He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
R.I.P bro
No, Roky was not in a gang. Our families have known each other for years and we grew up together. He was always very helpful, cheerful, a happy teenager. He did not deserve what happened. He was the kind of child that would help out and look out after his brother and sister. Roky was and will always be remembered as a wonderful kid who will be missed by his friends and family. This is a case of mistaken identity, confusion. We can’t say that he was a straight A student but he was a B & C student who was fighting for survival, fighting for a place in society. What can you say about a teenager who is staying in school, transferring from one school to another to avoid gangs, looking for a job to help his family, a kid who would rather spend his free time at home or doing laundry with his mom, a kid who would make sure that his brother was o.k., a kid who is willing to shovel snow for free. Roky was a wonderful human being who did not deserve what happened. He was an angel whose mission was cut short, and now we would never know why he was sent on earth to do or what his mission was for society. Roky, an angel who will return to us someday when his time is right.
R.I.P
Gonzalez Family
I taught at Farragut for 4 years and just left after last year. Roky was a student of mine last year. He was a great kid. Roky was enrolled in the JROTC program but as second semester rolled around he dropped out of JROTC and began acting up. Now, Roky was just a freshman quirky boy and was just being a teenager. He was NEVER in a gang, never got into fights, got along well with his peers and teachers (me being one). I just want to know WHY Roky was at the corner or walking home at 7:45 in a gang infested neighborhood!?!? He should have been home doing homework or reading. That’s what frustrates me the most as a teacher. I teach all day, assign homework so students like Roky are off the streets! I understand that Roky was “looking for a job” but we all know you don’t look for a job at 7:45 pm in Little Village! It’s just too dangerous! I was surprised to hear that Roky had transferred from Farragut to Kelly High School due to “getting picked on.” Roky never was picked on at Farragut. Nobody will know, only Roky will know what happened. RIP Roky and I hope you are an angel to my students.
This was a case of one gang wanting to strike at another, so they randomly picked any teenaged male they saw. What frustrates me is that I walked by that intersection about 15 minutes earlier, and people were everywhere (it was kind of a nice night). No way there were not multiple witnesses who clearly say what happened. At the very least the 27 cameras on the business and home of the muffler shop had to pick up something.
I saw the kid around the neighborhood, and he was no angel, and I don’t personally know whether he was “runnin’ w’ da D’s”, but he struck me as someone with a future.
A big part of the problem is the broken 10th district. With maybe one or two exceptions, we have the absolute scum cops of the city, who have no clue of what’s going on outside their warm police cruisers (or much of the time outside Huck Finn, 3 1/2 miles from their beat, or behind the counter harassing the gals at Speedway at 23rd/Western)) and are only thinking of transferring to a “safer” district as soon as eligible. They’re just as likely to grab and frisk the most harmless kid on the street as they are a true banger.