Alejandro Arellano

Alejandro Arellano was a 29-year-old Hispanic man and a father of two who grew up in Chicago’s Brighton Park neighborhood. He was a childhood friend of Angel Rosario, and the two were so close they were described as being “always together.” Family members remembered Alejandro as a good and respectable father to his 9-year-old son and 7-year-old daughter. His older sister, Maria Alicia, acknowledged that her brother had been involved in gang life at times but said he had distanced himself from it in the years before his death.

In the early morning hours of Sunday, November 12, 2017, Alejandro and Angel were leaving a party together. At approximately 1:55 a.m., they were in the 2400 block of West 47th Street in their Brighton Park neighborhood when a gray Toyota Corolla pulled up. A man wearing a mask jumped out of the car and opened fire on them with a rifle. The gunman fired more than 20 shots before getting back into the Toyota, which then fled eastbound on 47th Street.

The hail of bullets struck both men. Alejandro suffered a gunshot wound to his head and neck, while Angel was shot in the chest. When Chicago Police officers arrived at the scene, they found a street and sidewalk littered with over twenty .223-caliber shell casings, the type of ammunition typically used in AR-15 style rifles. Both Alejandro Arellano and Angel Rosario were pronounced dead at the scene by the Cook County medical examiner's office.

The Chicago Police Department launched a homicide investigation into the double murder. Detectives believed the shooting was gang-related. According to police and some family members at the scene, both victims were affiliated with the Satan Disciples street gang. However, loved ones emphasized that this did not define who they were. "We all say he was a good boy, a respectable father, but to them (police), he is just a gangbanger,” Alejandro’s sister told reporters at the scene.

Angel Rosario’s family shared a similar sentiment, saying he was a proud father to his 7-year-old daughter and had already bought her a Christmas present. He was also reportedly in the process of having his gang-related facial tattoos removed, a sign of his effort to move on from that life. The violent attack that killed the two lifelong friends was part of a brutal weekend in Chicago, during which at least 16 other people were wounded in shootings across the city.

In the years since the shooting, the investigation into the murders of Alejandro Arellano and Angel Rosario has remained open. No arrests have been publicly announced, and the masked gunman who ambushed them has not been brought to justice. The case remains an unsolved homicide with the Chicago Police Department. As of late 2017, no suspects were in custody, and authorities have not released any further information about potential persons of interest.