Edgar Vilchez, a Belmont Cragin student who witnessed a drive-by shooting, speaks at the DNC tonight

Reporting and analysis of the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

If he had been late for school one day in 2022, Edgar Vilchez might not be here today. On Thursday evening, he gave a speech at the Democratic National Convention.

In June 2022, when he was a junior at Intrinsic School, 4645 W. Belmont Ave in Belmont Cragin, Vilchez witnessed up close a classmate being shot from a passing car near the school grounds. The student survived, but the image of a blood-splattered sidewalk is seared in Vilchez's memory.

“If I had been late for school and walked on the same sidewalk, it could have happened to me,” he said.

The 19-year-old rising sophomore at Cornell University spoke Thursday night as part of a conversation about gun violence with U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath (D-Ga.) and activists Abbey Clements of Newtown, Connecticut, Kim Rubio of Uvalde, Texas, and Melody McFadden of Charleston, South Carolina.

The violent incident “changed my story,” he told the audience in his brief remarks. “Instead of worrying about taking a test, I began to worry about whether I would be alive to take another test. They say school is for learning, and I did indeed learn a lot that day. I learned how to run, how to hide and fall, that what happens in the news can happen to me. But I also learned something else – that we can and must write a new story if we want to.”

After the incident, Vilchez joined the Mayor's Youth Commission, an official advisory board of youth who represent their peers and advise Chicago's top politicians. There he learned about Project Unloaded, a gun violence prevention organization, of which he has now been a member for two years.

According to a survey of 2,400 Chicago residents, 56% of black and 55.75% of Hispanic respondents aged 40 years or older had witnessed someone being shot, compared to just 25.53% of white respondents.

Vilchez is aware that his hometown is often described in the media as the most dangerous city in the United States. On Monday, Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance called Chicago the “murder capital of the United States of America” at a press conference in Kenosha, Wisconsin. While Chicago has more murders than any other city, its murder rate is lower than many other cities.

Gun violence “is not unique to Chicago,” Vilchez said. “When you really look at our communities, is it that dangerous? What makes it so dangerous? It's so important to look at the root causes.”

Now, as an activist, he tells his story to reach other young people like him.

“We do not use politics to exert influence [youth]we use personal stories, we use facts,” Vilchez said.

As an ambassador for Project Unloaded, Vilchez has created fact-based content while also serving as an advisor to national campaigns.

“Youth is literally the backbone [Project Unloaded]it's so important to have that because we always hear the phrase, 'Your generation is the future,' but no, 'We are the now,'” Vilchez said.

The initiative's strategies are based on the Truth Initiative, a long-standing campaign that has been helping to reduce cigarette consumption among young people since 1998.

Since its launch in 2022, the nonpartisan initiative has reached more than 3 million people with its SNUG (Safer Not Using Guns) and Guns Change the Story campaigns. Its goal is to educate youth about gun violence with personal and factual accounts on social media.

Studies show that living in a home where a gun is present doubles the likelihood of murder and triples the number of deaths by suicide. The homicide rate among Latino youth is twice as high as that of their white peers.

“We want you to know that if you choose to own a gun, you may be contributing as well,” Vilchez said.

Nina Vinik, founder and president of Project Unloaded, says she is proud of Vilchez, who, she notes, spent his first spring break in college helping out with school programs on gun violence.

“He is such an amazing young leader. To see his leadership, his experience and his commitment and to be recognized in this forum and on this platform is just incredible,” Vinik said.

He hopes that people leave his speech tonight with a sense of hope.

“We need hope in the issues we advocate for,” he said.

Vilchez received the call two weeks ago that he would speak at the congress.

“My mother not only cried tears of joy when she heard that her son would be on stage, but she also spoke to millions of people across the country,” said Vilchez, who credits his mother as a driving force behind his activism.

“She inspires me to give back to my community,” Vilchez said.

Vilchez plans to continue advocating for issues surrounding gun violence – and may return to Chicago after graduating in 2027.

“I want to do politics, be it at the federal or local level. It's about serving my community,” he said.