CHICAGO — A father has been left searching for clues after his son was slain — but, so far, he's gotten nothing but silence.
Frederick Vasquez Sr. last saw his only son on June 10. Frederick Vasquez Jr. had come to pick his father up from work and surprise him with a birthday gift.
The father and son relaxed at home with Vasquez Jr.'s fiancée, who he was set to marry July 21. It was late in the day and Vasquez Jr. and his fiancée eventually left.
A few hours later, someone called Vasquez Sr.: His son had been shot.
Police said a man later identified as Vasquez Jr. was standing on the sidewalk in the 1000 block of North Monticello Avenue when someone in a gray car fired shots at him.
The 29-year-old was hit in his chest and taken to Norwegian American Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 2:04 a.m.
The area has been "pretty heated," Vasquez Sr. said, but he heard the shooting was a "freak accident."
The family tried to get information about what happened. Vasquez Sr. was careful not to push anyone in the neighborhood too far for information in case they couldn't afford the costs — potential retaliation, having to relocate to stay safe — of speaking out.
With few tips coming, the Vasquez family started putting up posters offering a reward of up to $3,000 for information leading to the arrest of the killer. They would personally pay the reward.
No tips have come in.
Vasquez Jr. had struggled with crime while growing up, his father said. A police source said the man was a documented gang member.
But Vasquez Jr. was not that man anymore, focusing on work while talking with local kids about avoiding his mistakes, Vasquez Sr. said.
"We used to sit and talk and have great ideas of helping people out...," Vasquez Sr said. "He came back to being that person he used to be, that we knew of. He was helping in the neighborhood ... especially the young and the old, the elderly ... being a cheerful person and helping people back on their feet.
"He was a gift of God."
Vasquez Jr. was saving money and had developed a successful job remodeling kitchens with a partner. A good salesman, he bought and sold old cars on the side, Vasquez Sr. said. He was also pursuing a job with the Chicago Transit Authority before his death.
In his spare time, Vasquez Jr. would play basketball with neighborhood kids. He talked to them about his job and how they could put things together or do small bits of construction. He wanted to show them "work does work," Vasquez Sr. said.
"He had finally actually got it together," Vasquez Sr. said. "It had been a merry-go-round, but he was going fast forward."
Last week saw the day when Vasquez Jr. was supposed to have married his fiancée, whom he'd been with for seven years. Instead, she visited her would-be in-laws — the first time they'd been able to do that since the shooting.
Vasquez Sr. remains "discombobulated" by their loss, he said, and his son's fiancée was "shook up."
They'd wanted children, Vasquez Sr. said. Now, his family just wants answers.
Tips in Vasquez's slaying can be emailed to kbauer@dnainfo.com to be shared with the family.
