Now another community in America is mourning the loss of family and friends: Among them are the parents of a 2-year-old boy.
Irina and Kevin McCarthy, ages 35 and 37, were identified by the Lake County Coroner’s Office on Tuesday. Their son, Aidan, was found alive and taken to safety after the abuse, the family told CNN.
Katherine Goldstein, 64, of Highland Park; Jacqueline Sundheim, 63, of Highland Park; Stephen Strouse, 88, of Highland Park; and Nicolas Toledo-Zaragosa, 78, of Morelos, Mexico, were the other four identified victims. A seventh victim died at a hospital outside of Lake County, according to the Coroner’s Office.
In all, about 45 people were injured or killed in the shooting, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
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Here’s what we know about the lives lost:
Irina and Kevin McCarthy
Irina and Kevin McCarthy, who were killed in the shooting, were the parents of a toddler who was found alive, according to a family member.
Irina Colon, who was related to Irina McCarthy, shared with CNN an undated photo of the couple at their wedding in Chicago.
Colon said she was not at the parade and learned of the couple’s death from Irina McCarthy’s father. The couple’s 2-year-old son, Aiden, will now be cared for by family members, Colon said.
A confirmed GoFundMe campaign that Colon started said that after the abuse, the toddler was taken to safety by community members before his grandparents were found.
“At two years old, Aidan was left in the unthinkable position; to grow up without his parents,” the campaign says. “Aiden will be cared for by his loving family and he will have a long road to healing, finding stability and ultimately navigating life as an orphan.” He is surrounded by a community of friends and extended family who will embrace him with love and every means available to ensure he has everything he needs as he grows.”
“On behalf of his family and with their permission, I am organizing this fundraising campaign to support him and his carers who will be tasked with raising, looking after and supporting Aidan while he and his support system are embarking on this unexpected journey,” it added.
The GoFundMe page had raised more than $820,000 as of Tuesday evening.
Jackie Sundheim
Jackie Sundheim was also identified by her synagogue as one of those killed.
North Shore Israel Congregation in Glencoe said in a statement that Sundheim was a lifelong congregant and staff member after serving as a preschool teacher and event coordinator.
“There are not enough words to express the depth of our sorrow at Jackie’s passing and our sympathy to her family and loved ones,” the statement said. “We know you join us in the deepest prayer that Jackie’s soul will be bound in the shelter of God’s wings and that her family will somehow find comfort and solace in the midst of this boundless grief.”
Nicholas Toledo
Father of eight and grandfather of many, Nicolas Toledo was visiting family in Highland Park from Mexico and was identified as the victim of Monday’s shooting, a Morelos state official told CNN.
Mexican authorities issued a press release identifying Toledo as Nicolás “N,” a common practice in Mexico where authorities use “N” for every last name in official documents, under a law to protect victims’ human rights and privacy.
Toledo loved to fish, paint and take walks with his family in the park, one of his granddaughters, Kimberly Rangel, told CNN affiliate WBBM. Toledo’s family has set up a GoFundMe page to raise money to repatriate him to Mexico.
“What was supposed to be a fun family day turned into a terrifying nightmare for all of us,” wrote the GoFundMe organizer and another granddaughter, Xochil Toledo. “As a family we are devastated and numb.”
She described her grandfather as a “loving man” who was “creative, adventurous and funny”.
Six of Toledo’s eight children live in the United States, according to a statement from Mexican authorities. One was injured in the shooting along with two other members of the Toledo family.
Stephen Strauss
Stephen Strouse, the 88-year-old man identified by authorities as one of the victims, was full of life, his grandchildren said.
“He was very active, enjoying life,” 18-year-old Maxwell Strauss told CNN. “He attended music festivals, loved the outdoors and rode his bike well into his 80s.”
He said his grandfather recently mentioned he was going to the parade and was “very excited.”
When news of the shooting broke, Maxwell’s father became very worried after Stephen Strouse didn’t pick up the phone. A few hours later, the hospital called to confirm his death.
“It was shocking, hard to imagine,” Maxwell Strauss said.
Tobias Strauss, 20, told CNN that the news of his grandfather’s death was “the worst thing that could happen.”
“He had a lot of life in him, he wasn’t ready to go by any means,” Tobias Strauss said. “It just doesn’t happen in other places, and I have no doubt that if America had better gun control, my grandfather would be alive.”
“The gun lobby and America’s cultural worship of guns are deadly. They kill grandfathers,” he added.
Strauss’ grandchildren told CNN that they had a close relationship with their grandfather and would see him almost every Sunday – for the usual family dinner.
What do we know about the injured?
A total of 26 patients were admitted to Highland Park Hospital, said Dr. Brigham Temple, medical director of NorthShore University Health System.
The patients ranged in age from 8 years old to 85 years old, and four or five were children, Temple said. He said 19 of the 25 gunshot victims were treated and released. There were gunshot wounds on the limbs as well as the central parts of the bodies, he added.
Barbara Medina, 46, was injured in the shooting — not by gunfire, but by the stampede — as parade-goers fled the area in an attempt to escape Monday’s chaos.
Medina was marching in the parade holding a Community Partners for Affordable Housing (CPAH) banner when she heard gunshots, she told CNN. A sea of people rushed her, so she dropped the banner, grabbed her 7-year-old daughter Carolyn and her scooter and ran away. Unfortunately, she was separated from her 12-year-old son and father in the mad dash to escape the area.
Medina and her daughter ran down an alley, only to notice her daughter slowing down behind her. She reached back to catch her and help her, but tripped over her scooter and fell hard on her left arm. She knew right away it was broken, she said.
“I could see it went the wrong way and I had to kind of maneuver it back,” she said. “It was very painful.”
After reaching the stranger’s home, Medina learned that her son and father were safe and located elsewhere. She borrowed a sling and an ice pack and propped her arm up on some pillows to ease the pain.
Hours later, Medina went to Skokie Hospital, a non-trauma facility, to have her arm examined, and doctors diagnosed her with a broken proximal radius just below the elbow. She now has a cast from the tips of her fingers to the top of her shoulder and expects to be in a cast for about 6 to 8 weeks.
Although her hand is sore, she is thankful that she and her family were not seriously injured.
“I’m more worried about the kids. I’m just thankful we’re all safe,” she said. “It’s going to be a long recovery process.”
CNN’s Amanda Moussa, Chris Boyette, Ana Melgar Zuniga, Fidel Gutierrez, Eric Levenson and David Williams contributed to this report.
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