Attempted murder charges filed against ex-boyfriend of slain CPS teacher after state trooper shot in Springfield
Attempted murder charges were filed against a Chicago man accused of shooting an Illinois State Police trooper, days after his ex-girlfriend, a Chicago Public Schools teacher, was found fatally shot outside her home in the Garfield Ridge neighborhood.
Charges against 37-year-old Cristobal Santana, including two counts of attempted first-degree murder and one count of aggravated battery with a firearm to a police officer, were filed Thursday in Sangamon County, state police said. Santana also faces counts of aggravated battery to a police officer and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, authorities said.
The initial news release by state police said a state trooper was shot in the leg while interacting with Santana, calling the man a suspect in a Chicago killing without giving more detail on the crime in question. The shot trooper and Santana, who was injured during his arrest, remained hospitalized Thursday evening.
Family members of slain Chicago Public Schools special education and pre-K teacher Adrianna Lopez, 41, say Santana was Lopez’s former boyfriend. Chicago police have not named a suspect in her killing, and the department told the Tribune Friday there was no one in custody in connection to the crime.
According to Chicago police, a “known man” in a dark SUV approached and shot Lopez 10 times in the chest on the sidewalk outside her home in the 5400 block of South Narragansett Avenue.
Family members previously told the Tribune they had seen video showing someone shooting and killing Lopez in the Garfield Ridge neighborhood Sunday night.
Lopez had filed for an order of protection against Santana a month ago, Lopez’s cousin Martiza Torres said.
A Cook County sheriff’s office spokesperson could not confirm whether Lopez had been granted an order of protection, citing a law requiring such orders to be sealed until they are served.
At a vigil honoring Lopez on Friday night, dozens of friends, colleagues and family members in pink, her favorite color, gathered for prayers in English and Spanish, including a reading of Psalm 23, on the sidewalk outside her home. They piled flowers and candles on her front steps.
The Nathan Davis Elementary School teachers who attended the vigil remembered their colleague as brave, kind and nurturing.
“She wanted everyone to be kind to each other, but to stick up for yourself,” Judin Bonilla said of her colleague. Lopez loved to go to the gym and travel, and had been planning a trip to Colombia when she died, Bonilla said.
At school, colleagues described Lopez as “above and beyond” in her commitment to her students, taking visits in her classroom from old students and teaching those who asked about hygiene and self-care. Bonilla recalled that she had a particular way with pupils who were agitated or acting out.
“She was soft-spoken but firm,” Bonilla said. “Just the sound of her voice would calm the kids down.”
Irene Luévano, who worked with Lopez for two years, teaching special education students in third and fourth grade as a classroom assistant, recalled how Lopez kept track of her students’ birthdays on a classroom calendar and held celebrations for each child.
“Those kids loved her so much, everyone would be counting down for her birthday,” Luévano said. “She’d celebrate for the whole month of May.”
Hyper-organized and neat, with a special system for organizing her classroom’s books, Luévano said Lopez encouraged her to be more social, and to go back to school to improve her teaching credentials.
“She was always on me, like, ‘Did you take your test already?’,” she said. “She was always sending me different study guides. She was very helpful.”
Lopez’s family members are raising money for funeral services and had collected $18,000 as of Friday evening on a GoFundMe page created by Lopez’s sister, Norma.
