Highland Park shooting: Seventh victim has died

The family of Eduardo Uvaldo, 69, prayed for a miracle after the grandfather was shot while attending the Highland Park Fourth of July parade Monday morning. His daughters, on social media, pleaded with others to join them in prayer, sharing a photo of Uvaldo sitting in front of the Louvre in Paris, wearing a blue shirt and a soft smile.

But Uvaldo didn’t make it and on Wednesday morning, requests for prayers for a miracle turned into prayers for strength for the family he leaves behind. Uvaldo died just before 8 a.m. Wednesday at Evanston Hospital, surrounded by his family, said Jackie Tapia, a close family friend.

The Cook County medical examiner confirmed Uvaldo as another victim of the mass shooting that has shaken a community and devastated families.

[ What we know about the mass shooting at a Highland Park Fourth of July parade ]

His wife and four daughters are devastated and unable to talk to reporters, Tapia said while standing outside the family’s longtime home in Waukegan.

“Thank you to everyone who prayed for my dad and my family,” his daughter, Tanya Uvaldo Castro, wrote on her Facebook page. “This morning he passed. We are heartbroken but are at peace because we know he wouldn’t want to be here in the state that he was. He passed peacefully.”

Though the family attempted to remain hopeful over the last few days, doctors had told them the bullet had reached Uvaldo’s brain caused irreparable damage, Tapia said. At the parade he was shot in the arm and in the head. His wife of 50 years, Maria Uvaldo, was also injured and their grandson was shot in the arm. Both are doing well.

His wife, four daughters, more than 16 of his grandchildren and other family members, gathered at his house after Uvaldo took his last breath.

“His memory and the family unity is keeping them strong,” Tapia said with tears in her eyes. There will be more family members traveling from Uvaldo’s native Nuevo Leon, Mexico, and other states to provide support to his wife and daughters.

“We are extremely thankful for the outpouring of love for the family, but we wish this wasn’t happening,” Tapia added.

The family had been attending the parade for several years. His youngest daughter, Tanya, took photos of her father and her son at the parade for the past three years. On social media she shared photos of a joyful Uvaldo, wearing patriotic shorts, smiling as he holds his grandson’s hand a few years ago at the same event at which he lost his life.

[ These are the victims of the Fourth of July parade shooting in Highland Park ]

“My dad loved to see and spend these special occasions with him,” Tanya Uvaldo wrote on Facebook. On Monday she was intending to take a photo of her father and her son, as usual, but she didn’t get a chance.

“Maybe God didn’t want me to have a reminder of that day,” she wrote.

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Uvaldo emigrated from Mexico and retired a few years ago. He loved his wife and his family, Tapia said.

“He was especially affectionate to his grandchildren,” Tapia said. “And his wife was — still is ― his light.”

“He was a kind, loving and funny man,” wrote his granddaughter Nivia Guzman on a GoFundMe page that has collected almost $70,000.

Tapia said that the family has not decided on funeral or burial details. Ambassador Reyna Torres Mendivil, consul general of Mexico in Chicago, said she has been in contact with the family to offer financial or legal help if needed.

“We regret to inform that a second person of Mexican origin has lost their life as a consequence of the shooting in Highland Park. Our solidarity with their family and friends,” Torres Mendivil said.

The Uvaldo family and all those who have been hurt by the shooting will continue to need prayers and support in days to come as they get ready to put their loved ones to rest, Tapia said.

Larodriguez@chicagotribune.com