Bartender killed while intervening in car theft remembered on Near West Side

Remedios Herrera remembers her older brother Salvador, known affectionately as Salv, as someone who was always helping people. She recalled a recent time where he invited migrants to a McDonald’s so they could eat together. And even though he had no kids of his own, Salvador was great with children, often spreading his love of the White Sox with them, his sister said.

Then in October, Salvador Herrera was killed trying to stop a car theft. “He died trying to help someone,” Herrera said.

In the early morning of Oct. 15, Salvador Herrera was heading home from his shift at Butterfield Country Club in Oak Brook when he saw a group attempting to steal an unoccupied car on the city’s Near West Side, his family said. The 42-year-old bartender tried to intervene and stop the burglary but was killed by the robbers.

Chicago police said he was shot in the back and found in a vehicle by an officer on patrol in the 700 block of South Loomis Street. His family said he was lying there for an hour before police found him. He was transported to Stroger Hospital, where he later died.

Remedios Herrera and a crowd of more than 50 of their family members and friends poured out onto busy Loomis Street on Thursday evening, while her younger sister Marcelina stood on the spot where her brother was killed.

People held signs and single white candles as the sun went down while praying in English and Spanish.

“I want to speak to Chicago directly because it’s not time to cower in fear and it’s justice and change that we are seeking,” Marcelina Herrera told the crowd.

Raul Hernandez met Salvador in high school and described his friend as “someone you could always call.” Hernandez and several other friends highlighted Herrera’s work ethic and drive, which helped put his sisters through school.

“He did it for his mom and for his sisters,” Hernandez said. “He loved his mom, his sisters and his friends, in that order.”

Neighbors on Loomis Street, including several who heard the shots fired and were on the street that night, joined the vigil as well.

After the vigil, mourners dispersed to hang signs pleading witnesses to come forward with tips. “Que viva Sal Herrera,” they chanted.

Salvador Herrera began working at Butterfield when he was just 14, the same year the siblings’ father died, his sisters said. He took the job to make money to support the family.

“He really stepped up as far as the father role,” Remedios Herrera said. “Even though we had a two-year age gap, he was more so mature for his age.”

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The family has lived in the Pilsen neighborhood their whole lives. Meanwhile, Salvador Herrera was a fixture behind the bar at Butterfield Country Club for 28 years.

“They became like a second family,” Marcelina Herrera said of the country club. “We have been overwhelmed by the support from Butterfield and phone calls daily asking for updates.”

Police are still investigating Herrera’s death. No one is in custody. A witness told police that four men fled the scene after shooting toward a vehicle.

Marcelina and Remedios Herrera are starting the campaign #justiceforsalv to raise awareness that “he is more than a statistic,” they said.

“He is a man that mattered so much,” Marcelina Herrera said.