Jonathan Ceballos and Holly Matthews.Photo: Jonathan Ceballos Facebook; Holly Mattews Facebook
A bride-to-be and a man who “always made people laugh” have been identified as the fatal victims of a mass shooting at a Halloween party in Illinois that killed two and injured 12 others.
Holly Matthews and Jonathan Ceballos, both 22, were fatally shot early Sunday at a huge backyard party in Joliet, about 40 miles south of Chicago, the Will County Coroner’s Office announced in a press release Monday.
Matthews and Ceballos, who were both from Joliet, each died of a single gunshot wound, according to the Coroner’s Office. They were pronounced dead at 3:45 a.m. Sunday at a home at 1018 E. Jackson Street in Joliet.
Matthews had just gotten to the party when gunfire erupted, her mother, Sharyl Mathews, toldWGN 9 News.
“When she got there, she felt a bad vibe,” Sharyl Mathews told WGN 9. “She was like, ‘I don’t want to be here. I don’t want to be here. Let’s go,’ and they were there for like a couple of seconds.”
At 12:40 a.m. Sunday, deputies from the Will County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) raced to the home on Jackson Street after 10 to 12 gunshots were fired, the sheriff’s office said in astatement.
When deputies got to the house, nearly 200 partygoers were fleeing the scene.
Two gunmen fired into the crowd from a porch overlooking a DJ booth in the backyard, according to the sheriff’s office.
More than a dozen people were hospitalized after being injured in the shooting.
‘Everyone Loved Her’
After the shooting, Sharyl Matthews tried desperately to find her daughter at every hospital I the area, WGN 9 reports.
“They said go home and wait for a phone call,” Sharyl told WGN 9. “I waited and waited, and at 6 o’clock in the morning, there was a knock on the door. I fell on the ground. Right when I heard the doorbell ring, I fell on the ground. I knew.”
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She had gotten engaged two weeks before she was killed.
“Everyone loved her,” Holly’s father, Stephen Matthews, told WGN 9.
He ‘Always Made People Laugh’
In aGoFundMeset up to help defray funeral expenses for Ceballos, his younger brother, Charles Ceballos, remembered him as"a great brother, friend and son. I remember how much you used to love riding horses, going to Mexico, how we used to play soccer together all the time and how you always made people laugh.
“I honestly can’t believe you were taken from us at such a young age (22) you didn’t deserve this s**t everyone will miss you bro.”
A Hail of Bullets
The jam-packed party was in full swing when someone saw two people arrive at the party and begin shooting into the crowd,Univisionreports.
“The first bullet started and all the people were not scared at first,but as now, suddenly, they heard more,” a guest identified only as Nathan told Univision. “Then they all ran. They were heard about 15 bullets.
“I was just worried about my sisters, who were at the party,” he continued. “My sisters and my cousins. I ran to look for them and you could just hear people screaming, saying, ‘Oh, they hit my friend. They hit this person. There are people on the floor. They are not moving,’ and that is when reality grabs you.”
Witnesses described the first shooter as a man with facial hair, wearing a red hoodie, black-billed hat and dark pants, according to the WCSO. The second shooter was described as a man, wearing a yellow hoodie and a ski mask.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Detective Danielle Strohm at 815-727-8574, extension 4930, or Will County Crime Stoppers at 800-323-6734.
source: people.com
