CHICAGO — Carmen Alcozer embraced Alexandria Burgos on Friday night, just like she did every time her niece would leave her.
Little did Alcozer know that it would be their last moment together.
Shortly before 1 a.m. Sunday, Burgos, 18, was shot and killed in an apartment in the 5300 block of West Oakdale Avenue in Belmont Cragin, said Officer Janel Sedevic, a Chicago police spokeswoman.
"I never expected this. There's always talk about the South Side that there's all this killing. No one talks about the North Side. Those killings are hush hush," Alcozer said. "They got to do something. This has to stop."
The shots came from outside the apartment and struck her in her head. She was taken to Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead, Sedevic said.
According to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office, she was pronounced dead at 1:24 a.m. Sunday.
"The last time I saw her, we all went to Second City to see her friend from Columbia College. I gave her a kiss [as we left]. We always kissed and hugged before we left," Alcozer said, fighting back tears Monday morning outside the Burgos' home in Union Ridge.
According to family, Burgos turned down her parents' offer to see a movie Saturday night because she was tired. While her parents were at the movies, her brother called her asking for a ride home from a party. Moments after she entered the apartment where the party was being held, she was shot and killed.
Alcozer missed several calls from her sister that night and was awoken by relatives banging on her door. The trip to Illinois Masonic Hospital was nerve-racking, but Alcozer never expected the worst, she said.
"In my mind she had just gotten hurt," Alcozer said.
When Alcozer got to the hospital, she asked a nurse if Burgos was OK. When the nurse directed her to the chapel where the family was praying, she knew it wasn't good.
"I broke down," she said. "She was killed instantly. When we got there she was gone."
Alcozer said Burgos was a Von Steuben High School graduate who planned to attend Wright College to become a social worker. She had turned 18 in March and had a job working at a YMCA. Officials at Von Steuben confirmed she graduated from the school.
"She had just turned 18 but was still a kid at heart," Alcozer said. "She was lovable, kind, bubbly and happy all the time. She was great with kids and great with people."
Maria Morales grew up with Burgos' parents and said she never saw Burgos without a smile on her face.
"She was loving and caring. You would never see her get mad. That smile would brighten your day," Morales said. "It's the saddest day."
Family said they were planning a rally in her memory after police conclude their investigation.
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