The brief respite from gun violence ended this weekend when a 22 year old was gunned down on Saturday morning. It happened in one of the city's most violent neighborhoods, and no one has been arrested. Today his family told us they don't know why Petillo was targeted.
Alfonso NobleReporting,
At around 3:30 on Sunday morning residents of Central American Boulevard near the Port Loyola Library were awakened by the sound of gunshots. One woman who wished to not appear on camera told us what she saw next.
Witness,
"I was sleeping and afterwards I went to the bathroom and I got up. And afterwards when I got up now, I went into my room and my head on the pillow to lay down and I heard 'bang bang' and I when I got up to peep through my window I saw the boy on the ground, on his back."
The victim was 22-year-old Bernard Petillo. His family says he left his home here on T Street sometime around 3 to buy cigarettes.
Shakira Jones, Sister of Deceased
"He was drinking and he went somewhere and when he came back he said he was going to go buy cigarettes. He went to buy and that is the last time I saw my brother. We don't have any idea who killed him or why. All we heard is that he was drinking and he went to go buy cigarettes. He got shot around 3 am and police came here after 4 and asked us if we knew Bernard Petillo. I told them yes, that is my brother and they told me they found him dead on the Boulevard, Central American Boulevard. So now they came for my mom and my mom went to identify the body and it was my brother. He got two shot in his head back."
Shakira Jones is Petillo's sister and she says the family is still trying to find out who did it and why.
Shakira Jones,
"My brother doesn't go out and fool with people. My brother stays home with me and my next sister because he helps us watch the smaller kids and get them ready to go to school and he doesn't bother anyone. I have his police record right now and I can show you how he it is clean. He doesn't bother anyone, his record is clean so I don't know why they would want to kill my brother."
Petillo is the third person to be killed in the neighborhood within the last two months. Police have no suspects in this case.
