When Silverio Villegas Gonzalez failed to show up for his shift at Tom & Jerry’s Gyros, his coworkers knew something was wrong.
Hours earlier, the 38-year-old was gunned down by an ICE agent moments after dropping his children at school and daycare in Franklin Park.
Officials called him “a criminal illegal alien,” but his only recorded offenses were minor traffic violations.
The Department of Homeland Security said Villegas Gonzalez had driven toward agents, prompting one to fire his weapon.
Family members dispute that claim, describing a hardworking father targeted under the Trump administration’s mass immigration raids.
DHS said it would open an internal review once local investigations conclude, though neither the FBI nor Franklin Park police have clarified who is handling the case.
Relatives in Mexico recalled a soft-spoken man who left his hometown of Irimbo for better opportunities.
“He was a kid,” said his brother Jorge. “He hid so I wouldn’t see him crying.”
In Chicago, Villegas Gonzalez became known for his quiet reliability in the diner kitchen, working long hours to support his sons.
Surveillance footage shows ICE agents pulling Villegas Gonzalez over before shots were fired.
He crashed moments later and died at the scene.
His sons were taken into foster care.
For many in Chicago’s immigrant communities, the killing reinforced a grim message: that under US enforcement, even the most peaceful lives can be shattered without warning.