Veronica Moreno

Veronica Moreno, a 21-year-old woman and mother to a six-month-old infant, died on December 6, 2019, after being shot in Chicago, Illinois.

The day before, on the afternoon of December 5, Veronica was a passenger in a car in the city’s Brighton Park neighborhood. According to prosecutors, the vehicle was stopped at a red light at Albany and Archer avenues when a teenager inside a nearby barbershop spotted it. The teen, armed with a handgun, then ran toward the car. As the driver saw him approaching and sped away, the gunman opened fire. One bullet struck Veronica on the left side of her head.

The car came to a stop a few blocks away in the 4100 block of South Fairfield Avenue. Paramedics treated Veronica at the scene before transporting her to Mt. Sinai Hospital in critical condition. She succumbed to her injury the following day at 5:01 p.m. An autopsy later confirmed that her death was a homicide.

Investigators pieced together the crime using evidence from multiple surveillance cameras. The footage reportedly showed the suspect inside the barbershop, running outside to fire at the vehicle, and then waiting in an alley for several minutes before a maroon-colored car arrived to pick him up. A Chicago police officer who had previous contact with the suspect identified him from the video as Jacob Salazar. Another witness also placed him at the scene.

In February 2020, authorities charged Jacob Salazar, then 17, with first-degree murder for Veronica Moreno's death. A judge ordered him held without bail. At the time the charges were filed, officials had not released a motive for the shooting or stated whether Veronica was the intended target. As of February 2020, the case was proceeding through the court system.