Alejandro Mendoza was 17 when he was shot and killed in Joliet, Illinois, on July 14, 2019. Officers responding around 6:15 a.m. to reports of shots fired found him inside a vehicle near Elwood Avenue and Creed Street with a gunshot wound. He was taken to Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox, then airlifted to Loyola Medical Center, where he died.

Police arrested a 15-year-old boy identified as the shooter. Investigators found a home on the 600 block of Chase Avenue with bullet holes and recovered a loaded firearm. The suspect was charged with first-degree murder and unlawful possession of a firearm; initial charges also included aggravated battery with a firearm, aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, defacing ID marks of a firearm, and unlawful possession of ammunition. Joliet police asked residents and businesses for surveillance footage to help piece together the events.

Alejandro’s death became part of a broader concern about gun violence in the community and left questions about what led to the early-morning shooting. Anyone with information or footage from the area that morning is asked to come forward.