Chicago shooting: 17-year-old student Juan Salgado shot dead in Little Village as he drove home from soccer practice: family

CHICAGO (WLS) — Earlier this week, just days before the start of the new school year, a teenager was shot dead in the southwest of the city.

He was gunned down in Little Village on Monday as he drove home from soccer practice. ABC7 spoke to the victim's family and coach about their sudden and heartbreaking loss.

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The 17-year-old victim, Juan Salgado, was a week away from starting his senior year at Juarez Community Academy and becoming captain of the school's soccer team at the time of his killing, his family said.

Broken hearts gathered outside Orozco Community Academy, where Salgado's love of soccer began in elementary school.

A video taken on Monday showed the teenager on the field about an hour before he left soccer practice at Harrison Park.

His family said he had left to take a friend and teammate who had shown up sick to practice to his home in Little Village.

“He knew the friend was not well enough to return home, and even though he knew he shouldn't go there, he did it because he felt it was the right thing for his friend,” said the victim's uncle, Sabastian Salgado.

Salgado was driving at 3800 West 26th Street around 5 p.m. when a truck stopped and someone inside started shooting, Chicago police said.

Salgado was shot in the left shoulder and was initially hospitalized in good condition, but his condition later worsened and he died exactly one week before the start of his senior year of high school and before becoming captain of the football team he had played on since his sophomore year.

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His coach, Julian Gomez, had to start school on Monday without his star player.

“He showed those leadership qualities,” Gomez said. “He showed the character we needed as a captain and it's very unfortunate that we won't be able to see him on the field as a team captain anymore.”

Salgado's family said the teenager also played for the Chicago Fire Youth Soccer Club and won about 40 sports medals in his short life. A GoFundMe page has been set up.

No one is in custody for his murder, Chicago police said.

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