RACINE, Wis. — A Racine family is heartbroken after an 11-year-old boy was shot and killed on Friday, May 17.
Relatives identified the victim as 11-year-old Jesus “Chucho” Valladares, a fifth grader remembered for his energy, kindness, and love for being outside.
“Always playing outside, full of life,” said cousin Dolores Villarreal. “He was always willing to help my grandma because we recently lost our Grandpa eight months ago. It’s been hard, but he was always there to help.”
Racine police said the shooting happened around 10:33 p.m. on May 16 at a home on the 2600 block of Prospect Street. Investigators said family members drove Valladares to the hospital, where he died from his injuries.
“For this to happen so suddenly is very heartbreaking to all of us,” Villarreal said through tears.
Preliminary information indicates that Valladares was accidentally shot by a sibling. Family confirmed it was Valladares' 16-year-old brother.
“We didn’t even know he had a gun,” Valldares’ aunt Dolores said. “Because of one decision to carry a gun, that’s going to affect him for the rest of his life.”
Check out: "Full of life"; Racine family mourns 11-year-old accidentally shot and killed by sibling
Racine Police said they arrested the sibling, a loss felt deeply by family.
“We’re going to be without two nephews — one deceased, and the other, we don’t know what the outcome will be,” Dolores said.
On Saturday, a memorial of balloons and candles appeared on the family’s front steps. Neighbors said the block is normally filled with kids and activity.
“I’m not close with him or anything, but in those spare moments, you see the kid and try to do what you can,” said neighbor Zyshawn Swanagan, who once gave Valladares an old PlayStation 4. “For a life that young to be cut short, it hurts. I have kids. It makes me worry.”
As they grieve, Valladares’ family shared a plea to make it harder for kids to access guns.
“These kids think guns are a game,” she added. “But how many lives have been lost? People need to take gun access seriously and stop making it so easy for kids to get them. Please try to educate young kids.”
The family has created a GoFundMe page to help cover Chucho's funeral expenses.
The Wadewitz Elementary PTA confirmed Valladares was a student at the school in a social media post.
“This child was a student at our school. Our deepest condolences go out to his family forever changed by this incident. We will provide more information when we have it about how to help support this family and our school community affected by this tragedy.”
A City of Racine alderman, Henry Perez, told TMJ4 he is working to launch a youth gun safety program later this year. More details on that to come.
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