BELMONT CRAGIN — Friends of a 19-year-old Belmont Cragin man who was stabbed to death by a longtime friend last week have painted a mural in Logan Square in his honor.
Kirino Fabian, a street artist who went by the name WAKE, was a known tagger in the community, according to Nino Rodriguez.
Rodriguez, 43, who goes by TSEL ONE, has been painting graffiti since 1985 and was one of two artists who painted the mural in Fabian's honor last week.
"This young man was just so young and he was really just a tagger and part of the community," Rodriguez, one of the better-known graffiti writers from the neighborhood, said. "It is definitely a loss to the community."
Rodriguez, who curates a few walls in the neighborhood, said he regularly worked with young kids in Belmont Cragin and tried to teach them the value in the art.
"I thought one way to show my respect toward him and his friends was to do a big mural with his art name and a picture of him that I liked and that captured what it means to live in the area — especially as a young person in the area — about the obstacles we face," Rodriguez said.
Fabian's friend and a fellow street Isaac Lopez painted WAKE in wild style lettering next to the portrait Rodriguez painted on a wall at the intersection of Fullerton and Milwaukee avenues in Logan Square.
Lopez, who goes by the tag name OWEN, was a friend of Fabian's.
"I mostly did it because of the people that he knew and I knew they would be happy," Rodriguez said.
Fabian's accused killer, 20-year-old Alexis Gonzalez, was charged with first-degree murder last week in connection to the stabbing that prosecutors said was tied to a love triangle.
Police said the woman involved was dating Gonzalez, but Fabian and a few friends drove to Gonzalez's house late last week when they found out she was there.
Once there, Fabian asked the woman to come outside and shouted toward the house, prosecutors said. Gonzalez's mother told Fabian to go away or she would call the police.
After the group left, Fabian started receiving Facebook messages from the on-and-off-again girlfriend, according to prosecutors.
Fabian, who was also with his brother, headed back to the house and when the woman started to get into the car, Gonzalez stopped her and began stabbing Fabian, according to prosecutors.
The 19-year-old was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
RELATED: Man Stabbed To Death In Belmont Cragin Love Triangle, Authorities Say
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