Thumbs-Up! Michy: Two brave hearts of the community; gone

On June 2nd, during an early Tuesday in the Oak Park village apartments, two unarmed security guards were found executed in their cars. Their bodies were found at 2 A.M, as they were parked alongside each other in the parking lot behind the complex. The guards, Oscar and Eugene, worked for Ad Force Private Security and were both very liked in the community. They were always described as polite and caring, even Eugene, on his days off, would come to talk and visit his friends here in the community, and even fish with them. The people that he protected were like his family, since Eugene had no close relatives.

When I come back from grocery shopping or doing laundry with my mom, I would always see her wave to Eugene, sitting in his car. My parents, my aunt and her boyfriend knew and were friends with Eugene and Oscar. My aunt's boyfriend was friends with Oscar, the other guard, and as I have seen, Oscar was always seemed chipper and excited about life; he was just in such a great mood. So, my family were close with these guards that protected us, and it's such a shame that they were found dead in the place they were supposedly loved.

As I think about what has happened, I know it isn't fair. Eugene and Oscar were always kind and friendly towards these people, and the community that they were guarding ended up killing them. Now, I live in these apartments, this village we call Oak Park. And I feel ashamed to live here. Whoever killed the guards just set a bad reputation for us, making the whole community look like criminals. Even a friend of mine said that her mom was afraid to pick me up or drop me off anymore because of this incident. The majority suffer from the minority, it's such a shame.

I, personally didn't know these guards, but to some people, they were like family to them. My parents saw them everyday, after a long day of work. When my dad gets ready to leave his car, he would see Eugene, always opening up with a "hi, how are you?!" They would then engage in small chit-chat, and it was like a part of his everyday routine. So, as a result, we have new guards but they aren't as friendly as Eugene and Oscar. They look at us as if we're going to murder somebody, and it's just very sad. The guards didn't deserve it. And this community doesn't deserve to have a bad reputation. I just hope that they find whoever killed the guards soon, as it will bring my parents and my aunt great relief.

Photo credit to: Leticia Ordaz/KCRA

-Thumbs-Up! Michy more at thumbsupmichy.blogspot.com