Funeral Set For Murdered San Clemente Doctoral Student

SAN CLEMENTE, CA —The body of a San Clemente doctoral student killed in the crossfire of a shooting in Rogers Park, hours after arriving in Chicago, has been returned to southern California ahead of upcoming funeral services. Family, friends and colleagues remembered him as a passionate and promising young scientist and researcher who had survived a bout with cancer in high school before his life was tragically cut short while waiting for a bus home.

Services were scheduled for Friday, Sept. 14, and Tuesday, Sept. 18, in San Clemente, California.

Shane Colombo, 25, arrived in Chicago Sept. 2 to begin his studies in Northwestern's clinical psychology program, where he had been awarded a full scholarship. He and his fiancee, both California natives, had recently purchased a condo in Evanston after dating long distance over the previous two years while Colombo carried out research at Columbia University in New York City.

"Shane touched each and every person who knew him. He brought his vivacious smile into our lab every single day, caring deeply for the people around him. His heart was so full of love and his positive attitude persevered through the most challenging circumstances," according to a message on a GoFundMe campaign created by staff of Columbia's Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Lab, where Colombo worked after graduating from San Francisco State University. "Shane was also was a brilliant scientist whose potential could only be matched by his passion as a researcher. I've never known someone to defy so many odds and work as hard as he did to get himself to grad school. We were all immensely proud of him and feel lucky for the time we got to spend with him."

Northwestern's graduate and undergraduate deans mourned the loss of the incoming student in such a senseless tragedy.

"It also saddens us that the world will not one day be able to benefit from the research Shane was about to pursue," Teresa Woodruff and Adrian Randolph said in a joint statement.

Colombo's fiancee, Vincent Perez, said he wanted to ensure that Colombo's legacy can help prevent future firearm deaths.

"I don’t want this to be where we all mourn and we are done. I want Shane to have a legacy. I want to protect people from gun violence. I want to be there for the community," Perez said in a social media post. "But we need to keep the embers of Shane’s memory and feed them to become a roaring flame. Chicago burned down in 1871, from where I am standing it burned on September 2nd 2018 when Shane died. Lets keep that flame alive and change the landscape for the better."

Perez announced the details of Colombo's funeral arrangements, asking attendees not to wear black but to instead wear colors in Shane's memory.

VIEWING & CEREMONY
Lesneski Mortuary - Friday Sept. 14 from 4 - 8 p.m.
640 S El Camino Real
San Clemente, CA 92672

CATHOLIC SERVICE
Our Lady of Fatima - Tuesday Sept 18 starts 11 a.m.
105 N La Esperanza
San Clemente, CA 9267

Three faculty members at Northwestern's medical school and a third-year student published an open letter to the university community urging action to combat the epidemic of gun violence. They are organizing an event to "commemorate Shane and start a dialogue on steps each of us can take to address this public health crisis." Those interested can sign up for more information.

Police said two men were seen chasing a third man west on Howard Street, according to Chicago Ald. Joe Moore, 49th Ward. The men turned south on Clark Street when one of the men pulled a handgun and fired. Several of the bullets struck and killed Colombo. Moore said police have assigned additional gang crime teams to the area and have been examining video footage of the incident. No arrests had been made a week after the shooting.

Police released several images from surveillance cameras at a bank in the 7500 block of Clark Street and asked anyone with any information about the identity of those pictured to contact Chicago Police Area North detectives at 312-744-8261.

Original report: Jonah Meadows; Patch Editor Ashley Ludwig contributed to this report