Alante Vallejo, 18, was shot and killed on the Chicago side of Howard Street near Winchester Avenue on Friday, June 6, at approximately 1:45 p.m. He was taken to Presence St. Francis Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Alante resided on Hull Terrace in Evanston. He graduated from Evanston Township High School just five days before on June 1.
Alante had just withdrawn funds to buy clothes to wear to a graduation party that his mother had planned for the next day. He was walking with a friend when he was shot. His friend was shot in the foot.
Reportedly, the shooter was wearing a mask and was with other persons.
On June 11, Alante’s mother, his grandmother, friends and residents of Evanston and Chicago gathered for a vigil and rally in a parking lot on Howard Street just a few blocks west of where Alante was shot. They honored him and called for an end to the violence.
Marcus Campbell, assistant superintendent of Evanston Township High School, said in a letter to the ETHS community, “We are saddened to report that Alante Vallejo, a June 2014 graduate of ETHS, was shot and killed … Our sympathy and thoughts are with Alante’s family.” ETHS made grief counseling available to students and staff.
At the June 9 City Council meeting Mayor Elizabeth Tisdahl expressed condolences to the Vallejo family.
Funeral services were held on June 13 at Ebenezer A.M.E., Church, 1109 Emerson St., in Evanston.
Chicago police are continuing their investigation of the shooting.