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Soldier Killed After Friend's Birthday Party on West Side

By DNAinfo Staff on January 12, 2013 6:12pm

 Matthew Zavala, 20, was shot and killed Feb. 11, 2012.
Matthew Zavala, 20, was shot and killed Feb. 11, 2012.
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CHICAGO — A solider who had recently returned from basic training was shot and killed in Austin, authorities said.

Matthew Zavala, 20, of the 2100 block of West Monroe Street, was shot and killed in the 200 block of North Lorel Avenue on Feb. 11, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office.

According to ABC Chicago, Zavala was leaving a party bus after a friend's birthday when he was shot in the head by an unknown gunman.

"Pfc. Zavala was new to the Illinois Army National Guard, but was already very much part of our brigade's family," Maj. Gen. William L. Enyart, the Adjutant General of the Illinois National Guard, said in a statement. "It is never easy losing a Soldier, whether it's on or off duty – especially someone who was so young and who was enthusiastic about being a Soldier and serving his country."