Aaron Lee Vidales Jr., 31, known as AJ, was shot and killed in Joliet in the early morning hours of Sunday, May 3, 2026. Officers responded to multiple gunshots heard near Anthony’s Restaurant and Pub and found Vidales in the adjacent Dollar Tree parking lot with a gunshot wound to the head. He was taken to St. Joseph Medical Center and pronounced dead.

Friends and family described Vidales as hardworking and devoted to his family. A Joliet West High School graduate, he worked as a cell tower technician before returning to Joliet, where he later worked as a forklift operator and Yard Management Specialist alongside his father. He was a devoted uncle and was at Anthony’s on the night he died.

Investigators recovered multiple spent shell casings and a handgun at the scene; gunfire also struck two unoccupied vehicles and a nearby dispensary. The investigation is active; no arrests or publicly identified suspects or motives have been announced. Anyone with information or video related to the shooting is asked to come forward.