Adam Lara / Family photo
BY KALEY FOWLER
Homicide Watch Chicago
Adam Lara, 16, was a quiet teenager who enjoyed “looking up facts” on the internet, his sister said.
Adam was fatally shot in the 2800 block of North Kenneth Avenue in the Hermosa neighborhood about 3:30 p.m. July 14, authorities said.
Just before the shooting, Adam and his 49-year-old father had gotten into an argument with two people at a nearby restaurant, authorities said. The father and son left and went back to their car, but the people they were arguing with followed and opened fire, police said.
Adam, of the 4000 block of North Central Park Avenue, was shot in the head and died about two hours later at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, authorities said. His father was shot in the back and was initially hospitalized in critical condition, police said.
Adam was the youngest of six children and had a close relationship with all of his siblings, said his sister, Salina Sandoval. She described him as an introvert who was a jokester only around family members.
Sandoval said Adam enjoyed listening to music, playing basketball and watching National Geographic. Adam would often search the internet to verify the information he learned on National Geographic, she said.
“If you told him anything, you’d have to prove it to him,” Sandoval said. “He loved facts and looking up facts.”
Although Adam enjoyed learning new facts, school didn’t interest him, Sandoval said. He had recently finished his sophomore year at Lydia Urban Academy.
Adam’s father, Uriel, was an avid runner, and his running club, Universal Sole, assisted the family with funeral costs and organized a memorial run.
“When we heard the news we immediately said that with the family’s approval we’d like to do something in their honor to help them out,” said Mark Rentfro of Universal Sole. “When something happens to one of our members, or to somebody we know in the community, our reaction is to get together and run.”
Adam’s sister, Salina Sandoval, said Adam often accompanied his father on runs and said it’s heartwarming that the local running community launched a fundraiser to help with medical expenses.
“I don’t know these people, but they’re so giving,” Sandoval said. “The fact that they want to take time out of their busy schedules to put this kind of fundraising event together without needing anything from the family is a feeling that I’ve never felt before. It makes me realize that my father and brother were loved in the running community.”
After the shooting, the suspects ran westbound down an alley, police said.
Nobody has been charged for the murder. Area North detectives are investigating.