BACK OF THE YARDS — A landscaper with a young daughter who was planning to be married was gunned down in front of a church in Back of the Yards, according to family and authorities.
Alexander Mendoza, 20, was headed home after visiting a friend in the neighborhood on April 20 when he was shot on the 1900 block of West 48th Street.
“He was waiting for someone to pick him up to go home,” said Joe Mendoza, an uncle of the victim. “He was just walking. He didn’t want to be there.”
Mendoza was pronounced dead at John H. Stroger Hospital after suffering a gunshot wound to the head, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office.
“The really sad part is that they did it in front of a church,” Mendoza said. “Their conscience should have kicked in. They have no soul.”
Mendoza was a man with a loving family, according to his uncle, and had just celebrated his 2½-year-old daughter’s birthday a week before his death.
He was also set to marry his fiancée. The couple already had their rings.
“It’s not just a murder,” Mendoza said. “He was my son — my nephew. He was on the right road, doing the right thing.”
