Mario Palacios Jr., an 18-year-old Hispanic man from Aurora, Illinois, died on January 11, 2021, of gunshot wounds he sustained on December 29, 2020. On the evening of December 29 he was driving on Aurora’s East Side when he was shot and crashed his car in the 1000 block of Second Avenue. Paramedics took him to a local hospital; he was later transferred to Loyola University Medical Center, where he succumbed to his injuries nearly two weeks later.

The Aurora Police Department opened a homicide investigation and is asking the public for information. No arrests have been announced and no suspects have been publicly identified. Mario’s family and friends remembered him as bright and kind-hearted with a passion for football and music.

If anyone has information about the shooting on December 29 in the 1000 block of Second Avenue, please contact the Aurora Police Investigations Division.