Boy, 9, shot and killed at grandmother’s birthday party in Franklin Park, police say

Jake Sheridan, Chicago Tribune
Updated ·2 min read
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Among the toys and outfits Ulysses Campos’ father had bought for the 9-year-old’s quickly approaching birthday and hidden away was one shining gem: a PlayStation 5 video game console.

The dad was eager to give the gift to his son, the boy’s cousin said.

“He knew he was going to love it,” she added.

But the father will never get to see his son open that box.

Campos was shot and killed Saturday while playing at his grandmother’s 70th birthday party in Franklin Park.

As Karina Cazares, 26, remembered her cousin on Monday, she told the Tribune he had a “husky little voice.”

“We always knew it was him,” Cazares said. “We knew it was Uly.”

She described the slain child as “goofy,” “fun” and “loving.”

“Very charismatic, very energetic,” Cazares said. “He always had a song or dance that he was doing. He made people laugh.”

Campos had been playing near an alley when gunshots broke out from a moving car late Saturday night. The bullets flew around a group of other kids, Cazares said.

Police said Sunday a person of interest was in custody and the car that authorities suspect was used in the shooting had been located nearby.

A GoFundMe that Cazares set up to help the family pay for memorial services had raised just under $20,000 in one day as of Monday night. The outpouring of support surprised the mourning family, she said.

The shooting had come as a shock to the family as they celebrated their matriarch, she added. They had family gatherings before at the Elder Lane house near Grant Avenue with no issues. But the attack, which Cazares described as “completely random” and “not targeted,” left the family terrified and shocked, she said.

The “innocent kid” who the family can now only dearly miss was a kindhearted jokester, Cazares said. She can feel a void in her family, she added.

“If you needed, he’d help you out, whether it was setting the table or bringing the groceries in,” Cazares said. “He had his whole life ahead of him. Everything,” she said.