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Posted: Friday, 06 November 2009 3:19PM
Two local soldiers among the dead at Fort Hood
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CHICAGO (STNG) - Two area soldiers were among the 13 shot and killed at the Fort Hood military base Thursday. Among the dead are a 21-year-old southwest suburban man and a 21-year-old Northwest Side woman.
Family members of 21-year-old soldier Michael Pearson of Bolingbrook were distraught Friday morning after receiving confirmation that he was a victim of the massacre.
And Francheska Velez of Humboldt Park, a Kelvyn High grad, was three months pregnant, relatives said. She lived in the 4300 block of West Kamerling.
“His mother is inconsolable right now,” according to a family member who was reached by phone at the Pearson's home in the 100 block of Beaconridge Drive in Bolingbrook on Friday morning.
A shooter opened fire on a crowd of soldiers at Fort Hood Army base in Texas Thursday afternoon, killing 13 people and wounding 30, according to military officials. Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, a psychiatrist, has been identified as the gunman.
Jessica Koerber, who grew up next door to the Pearsons, was with the family when they learned of his death. She said the man she knew as “Mikey” was the “calm and quiet type” who loved playing music.
“He was a quiet guy, but you could give him a guitar and he could go all day long,” said Koerber, 26, who went to high school with Pearson’s older sister. She said he also has two older brothers and was planning to return home for Christmas.
“You know how they make statements that some kids are perfect, like the little angel of the family? That was Mikey,” Koerber said. “He was content being himself.”
Koerber, her mother and her fiancé, Chris Burdick, went to the Pearson home Thursday after they learned Michael had been shot. The home has a yellow ribbon around its porch light. A "United We Stand" placard is on the door.
“We all thought he would pull through,” Koerber said. “God ain’t going to take him from the family because he never did anything wrong in any way. But [God] did.”
“They’re a nice family, they’re really distraught right now,” said Burdick, who was shocked and angry by the massacre.
“What the hell is going on in this country where we can let this happen on the largest army base?” Burdick said. “The troops are under enough pressure overseas, they don’t need to be under pressure in the Army.”
Pearson was a graduate of Bolingbrook High, according to school spokeswoman Linda Pawlowicz.
Sheryll Pearson and her husband, Jeff, heard the news about the shooting while at the home of another son.
“They just want to be left alone,” Bolingbrook police Sgt. Steve Schaefer said Friday morning after speaking with the family.
Gov. Quinn Friday morning reacted to the deaths.
"It's a profoundly sad day for the families of our fallen service members and those who are wounded. And it's a terrible tragedy," Quinn said in Chicago.
"Everyone in our state and our country should realize that every day is a day a soldier has to put his life on the line. We need to realize that those who wear the uniform of our country are the best of the best, and we honor their service."
"The family of Illinois mourns with the families of all of our fallen soldiers," Quinn said.
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Sun-Times Media Wire Chicago Sun-Times 2009. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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