At only 21, Olubusayo Awomolo was so focused on obtaining his master's degree in mechanical engineering that he hardly did anything besides go to class and study, his father said.
His quiet life and single-minded devotion to school made it all the more difficult for his family to comprehend how Awomolo could be gunned down Monday evening in the driveway of their Dolton home.
"My son is gone," said Wale Awomolo, as he stood surrounded by friends and family Tuesday in their south suburban home. "He was a very, very, very quiet boy. I'm hoping the police will be able to tell me why."
Olubusayo Awomolo was a master's degree candidate at the University of Illinois at Chicago, where he also received his bachelor's degree, officials there confirmed.
He grew up in Lagos, Nigeria, and joined his father and siblings in Dolton in December 2002, his family said. He graduated from Thornwood High School, then made it his mission to finish college.
"He was all academics," said his sister, Arinola Awomolo. "He was very quiet, easygoing and nice. He was an amazing brother."
He was returning home from the Chicago campus when a group of men approached him, Wale Awomolo said he learned from neighbors.
Although some neighbors said they heard the shooting and at least one saw several men go up to his son, no one called police, Wale Awomolo said. The man was discovered by his older brother, who was coming home and found him lying in their driveway in the 15500 block of Ingleside Avenue.
"My son said he saw a body and he called 911," Awomolo said. "He thought it was someone drunk or someone sleeping. Then we found out it was my son. I said, 'My God.'"
According to Dolton police Chief Bolden Jones, Olubusayo Awomolo was shot and killed between 7 and 7:45 p.m.
Police have no one in custody and are asking anyone with information to come forward, Jones said. "The most important thing is to find out what happened to this young man and who did this," he said.
On Tuesday, friends and family sat in the living room of the Awomolo family's modest brick house struggling to understand the tragedy. The boy's mother sat on the couch, crying quietly while friends hugged and comforted her.
"This is terrible. You never think this could happen in a neighborhood like this," said Adeyemi Adesuyi, a family friend. "We should be our brother's keeper and look out for each other."
Margaret Taiwo, the victim's aunt, said just thinking about what happened to her nephew made her angry.
"We want people to know this is very bad," she said. "People should not be afraid to call the police. It could have been their child. If he got help, he could be in the hospital right now, recovering. But he was left there. Only God knows.
"I pray, whoever did this, will not rest."
His friends and family described Awomolo as a bookworm who spent most of his time on his laptop computer. On his MySpace page, Awomolo said he liked to play video games and read war stories.
"He was a best boy," Adesuyi said. "He did what you asked him to do and he was very focused."
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