A Former Teacher, a Loving Grandfather: What We Know About the Victims of the Highland Park Shooting

Mar. 15, 2025

Thousands of people had gathered to watch the annual Indepenedence Day parade in Highland Park, Ill. on July 4 when a gunmanopened fire, killing six people and injuring more than two dozen others.

As authorities pursue charges against the 21-year-old suspect, friends and families of the victims are reeling from their sudden loss and mourning the deaths of the victims.

Here’s what we know about those killed in the attack:

Nicolas Toledo.Go Fund Me

Nicolas Toledo, 76

Toledo, 76, suffered three gunshot wounds when a shooter opened fire in the central district of Highland Park on Monday morning, sending hundreds of people running for safety.

“We were all in shock,” his granddaughter Xochil Toledo toldThe New York TimesMonday, saying that she thought the bullets were “part of the parade.”

“We realized our grandfather was hit. We saw blood and everything splattered onto us,” she added.

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Xochil told theChicago Sun-Timesthat Nicolas, who had been visiting his family from Mexico, was “happy to be living in the moment” during theFourth of Julyparade before the shooting occurred.

“He was the one who saved all of our lives,” she added about the fact her grandfather took three bullets aimed at the family. “It would have gone to me, my boyfriend, or my cousins.”

Jacki Sundheim.NSCI

Jacki Sundheim, 63

Sundheim was a lifelong congregant of North Shore Congregation Israel, and she eventually joined the staff of her synagogue.

“Jacki’s work, kindness and warmth touched us all,” the synagogue said in astatement. “From her early days teaching at the Gates of Learning Preschool to guiding innumerable among us through life’s moments of joy and sorrow as our Events and B’nei Mitzvah Coordinator– all of this with tireless dedication.”

Her nephew, Luke Sundheim, confirmed her death on Facebook.

“My aunt Jacki was senselessly gunned down watching a parade that’s she’s been to her entire life,” Luke wrote. “If you knew Jacki you’d know that she was one of the kindest people you’d ever meet and she went out of her way to help anyone. Jacki had endless love for my Uncle Bruce and their daughter Leah.”

“The world lost a truly special person and I’m both furious and incredibly sad that I won’t be able to spend any more time with her,” he concluded. “I love America, but this cannot keep happening to innocent, loving people.”

Irina and Kevin McCarthy.gofundme

Irina McCarthy, 35 and Kevin McCarthy, 37

Irina and Kevin McCarthywere the parents of a 2-year-old son, Aiden, who was unharmed during the shooting, according to a verifiedGoFundMepage.

Kevin McCarthy, 37. died while using his body as a human shield to protect his Aiden, his father-in-law revealed Tuesday. “He had Aiden under his body when he was shot,” Michael Levberg told theChicago Sun-Times. Irina was also killed in the attack.

Katherine Goldstein, 64

Katherine “Katie” Goldstein had just lost her mother and was still mourning her death when she decided to go to the parade.

Cassie tells NBC that they initially thought the gunshots were firecrackers, and then spotted the shooter on top of a building. Katie Goldstein was shot in the chest.

“She was just a good mom, and I got 22 years with her,” Cassie Goldstein said. “And I got to have 22 years with the best mom in the world. … I did everything with her. She was my best friend.”

GoFundMe

Eduardo Uvaldo, 69

Uvaldo, who had just celebrated his 50th wedding anniversary, initially survived the attack, despite being shot in the arm and the back of the head.

Family members tell theNew York Timesthat he was the father of four girls and had 17 grandchildren. A devoted family man, he would watch telenovelas every morning with his wife, Maria.

An avid sports fan, he watched Team Mexico soccer matches and Chicago Cubs baseball games. On Sunday mornings, he took his family out to breakfast.

His daughter, Karina Uvaldo-Mendez, toldCNNthat her father was very hard-working, never missing a day of work.

He will be buried on Friday, which would have been his 70th birthday.

Facebook

Stephen Straus, 88

A father of two, Straus had four grandchildren. A financial advisor, he still worked every day at a brokerage firm in Chicago.

“He was an honorable man who worked his whole life and looked out for his family and gave everyone the best he had,” his niece, Cynthia Straus, told theNew York Times. “He was kind and gentle and had huge intelligence and humor and wit.”

Straus remained close with his grandchildren and maintained an active lifestyle.

“He was very active, he enjoyed life,” his 18-year-old grandson, Maxwell Straus, toldCNN. “He attended music festivals, loved to get outside, and biked into his 80s.”

Another grandson, Tobias Straus, told CNN that his grandfather’s death was the result of American gun policies.

source: people.com