The Dunning community, a typically peaceful enclave on Chicago's Northwest side, has been marred by violence following the shooting death of 24-year-old father Zet Rodriguez, leaving residents shaken and concerned for their safety. Rodriguez-Lara was walking near his home in the 3900 block of North Pittsburgh Avenue early Friday morning when an assailant, caught partially on surveillance footage, fired the deadly shot, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

As captured on a neighbor's security camera the footage showed a figure in black engaging Rodriguez before a loud bang was heard and Rodriguez, a father to a 6-month-old daughter with a second child on the way, could be seen tumbling onto a front lawn where he cried out for help, his plea falling on the early morning stillness of a community not accustomed to such brutish and abrupt invasions of mortality, “I’m shot, I’m shot,” Rodriguez called out, a neighbor told the Chicago Sun-Times echoing the police report.

Amid the unease, residents reminisce about more frequent police patrolling in the past, with some expressing fears of retaliation and an urgency for answers after two persons of interest were released from custody, "Our biggest concern right now is that these people are still out there," as per Chicago Sun-Times. Another local, shocked by the daylight timing of the incident, lamented the risk posed to children heading to school, according to the same source.

In the aftermath of the tragedy, the community and Rodriguez's loved ones rallied together, creating a GoFundMe page in support of his family, swiftly surpassing the $25,000 goal. Remembered for his plans to propose to his partner on Mother’s Day and for his contributions as a social worker Rodriguez's life is now captured not just in the coded language of loss and GoFundMe campaign updates but as a stark reminder of the unceremonious way life can give way to violence in even the most unsuspecting of havens, as reported by Block Club Chicago.