The Incident
Adrianna Lopez, 37, a special education teacher was gunned down, just steps from her home in the Garfield Ridge neighborhood. Unfortunately, she was found in a situation that costed her life, on Sunday night, October 22. She had just arrived back from eating out with a friend.
Lopez was just steps away from her house in the 5400 block of South Narragansett Avenue, when the incident went down, according to Springfield police. That was when she was approached by a man she knew in dark-colored SUV just after 9:30 p.m. This man was identified as Cristobal Santana, Lopez’s ex. They had a confrontation between each other and moments later the man pulled out a gun and shot Lopez a total of ten times.
The Impact of this Atrocity on the Community and her Family
This news was very devastating to her family to hear and also to the school where she worked in. She was a special education teacher at Nathan S. Davis Elementary School located in Brighton Park. Relatives of Lopez stated that after she got her master’s degree she planned and aspired to become a school principal.
Her sister Norma Lopez said, “She was a great person, she cared about her family and other people.” The school institution is also very heartbroken because of this. They are going to build a memorial in honor of Lopez. And services will be held on Sunday and Monday. “Her students were her world” Norma said. Also, Norma’s husband, Noel Jaramillo said, “there was no reason for him to take her life, she was so sweet, she was so nice to everybody. It’s senseless.”
Furthermore, Jaramillo stated that it was known that Lopez had an order of protection against Santana after an argument that turned physical about three weeks ago. He mentioned that Santana had already shown signs of violence. Overall, this death is very unfortunate and very hard on everybody, her sister is still in denial. The school is mourning her as well and it definitely impacted the community, that it was someone that was she knew and had a history with that committed this crime.
Who is the Responsible Suspect for this Crime?
Fortunately, the good news is that police now have under custody Santana who was known to be the main suspect that was wanted for the murder of Lopez. Santana got caught on Tuesday, October 24 in Springfield, Illinois. In fact, it happened after Springfield police responded to a report of a shooting at about 10:44 p.m. in the 1600 block of Toronto Road.
Moreover, it turned out that Santana had interacted with a trooper. Unfortunately, during their interaction, gun shots were fired, and the trooper was hit in the leg. Santana desperately fled the scene, until multiple departments searched the area until he was taken into custody around 1:58 a.m. Sadly, the trooper was rushed to the hospital in critical condition.
Lopez’s family is relieved that Santana is now in custody and that he did not get a chance to escape and not own accountability for his actions.
Remembering Adrianna Lopez
Overall, it is a very unfortunate and heartbreaking experience for the community to lose in such a brutal way a beloved one. In any way was this murder foreseen or expected. Lopez definitely left a print behind and made an impact in a lot of people’s life.
A vigil was held for her outside of home at Garfield Ridge Friday night in order to honor her memory. In fact, about 100 people gathered for this vigil and everyone was extremely sad, and it ended with the crowd yelling, “Vive Adrianna” which means, “Long Live Adrianna.” Lopez is a person who will forever live in the hearts of the people that loved her and the community.
Written By Jeanette Sanchez
Sources:
ABC7: Suspect in Shooting of Chicago special ed teacher arrested after trooper shot in Springfield
Chicago Sun Times: Suspect in slaying of CPS special education teacher arrested in shooting of state trooper
Chicago Sun Times: “Vive Adrianna” Vigil held to honor slain special education teacher
Featured Image Courtesy of Raymond Wambsgans Flickr Page-Creative Commons License
Inset Image Courtesy of Ben Townsend Flickr Page-Creative Commons License
