ENGLEWOOD — Two roses, a few empty bottles and a poster bearing "RIP Hoover" marked the spot where 24-year-old Geremy Hoover was fatally shot over the weekend.
Authorities said Hoover, of the 7200 block of South Yale Avenue, died from his wounds Wednesday night.
Thursday morning, Hoover's friends gathered at the scene to mourn him. They cried and hugged and wrote their goodbyes on the poster.
Police said Hoover was walking with another person in the 7200 block of South Wentworth Avenue — just a block from his home — about 1:15 p.m. Sunday when he was approached by a man who asked to borrow a cell phone.
The man then pulled out a gun and told the two to empty their pockets, police said. Hoover and his friend began to run away in different directions when the gunman opened fire and hit Hoover several times.
The gunman took items out of Hoover's pockets before fleeing the scene, police said.
Hoover was taken to Stroger Hospital where he was pronounced dead days later at 8:50 p.m. Wednesday, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office.
Family declined to comment Tuesday morning, but those at his memorial described the 24-year-old as a "good dude" who was down to earth and always looked out for his friends.
One of Hoover's childhood friends said he went to Bogan High School but did not graduate. Hoover later earned his GED and always had a job, the man said.
As he stood staring at his friend's memorial, the man struggled to say what exactly Hoover meant to him.
"Nothing I can really say, it was all love," he said. "I guess anything you can say about a mother f---er who cares about a mother f---er."
Another woman at the scene said Hoover had three children but added that is not what people would hear about him.
"They're just gonna say he was in a gang, so that's it," she said. "That's your story right there."
Police said Hoover had known gang affiliations.
