Nichole Osborne Struk was 37 when she was fatally shot on June 19, 2021, while walking with her husband in Chicago’s Humboldt Park during Puerto Rican Day Parade celebrations. She was struck in the mid-back after gunfire broke out around 6:10 p.m., taken to Stroger Hospital, and pronounced dead after her heart stopped during surgery. Nichole was born May 20, 1984, in Mankato, Minnesota, and had graduated summa cum laude from Johnson and Wales University with a degree in Equine Management. She and her husband shared a home with two pet cats, Colonel Macaroni and Cheese and Chancellor Tortellini.

Investigators determined she was an unintended victim of a gang-related shooting. Video allegedly showed 25-year-old Angel Ayala firing during an altercation; the bullet that killed Nichole was reportedly intended for someone else. Ayala was identified and arrested days later after attempting to evade police. Nichole’s family and friends remember her for her magnetic personality and love of animals.

If anyone was in Humboldt Park that evening or has information about the shooting, please come forward.