In Pilsen, mass shooting looms over Juarez, once considered ‘sacred ground’ for community

Mourners and supporters gather for a vigil outside Benito Juarez High School in Pilsen last month less than a week after a mass shooting outside the school killed two teenagers and wounded two others. (Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times file photo)

When gunfire erupted outside of Benito Juarez Community Academy, it felt as if tragedy had struck Teresa Fraga’s family, though she wasn’t related to the two teens who were fatally shot. 

“Any kid who goes there is going to a school that was built by families,” Fraga said. “So to me, Juarez — and I think students see it that way, that they see it as a sacred ground where it’s, like, blessed.”