Omar Sandoval

How they died

Suicide

Police claimed that Omar Sandoval killed himself in a crawl space above the attic of his Southwest Side home. Police responded at about 5:45 p.m. to a report that Sandoval had fired shots in the kitchen while drunk and enraged. His family said Sandoval got scared and hid in the attic when officers arrived. Sandoval allegedly pointed a gun at the officers, who opened fire. At about 9:30 p.m., police said they found Sandoval unresponsive in the crawl space "with a gun in hand and apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to head." Sandoval's family challenged the police account, citing multiple bullet holes in the attic, and that both of his hands were under his head when he was found. They questioned how the officers could have seen Sandoval with a gun when he was squeezed into the crawl space. An autopsy conducted by the Cook County medical examiner's office disclosed that Sandoval died of multiple gunshot wounds.

Why we remember them

This record exists so that Omar Sandoval, and all who are named in this archive, are never reduced to a number.

References & sources