Tributes paid to 26 year old gay man killed in Chicago
Suraj Mahadeva was killed in a shooting in Chicago on 11 December.
Words: Alastair James; pictures: Anika Mahadeva
The family and friends of a 26-year-old gay man, Suraj Mahadeva, have paid tribute to him after he was killed in an attack in Chicago more than a week ago.
Suraj, who worked as a medical clinician at a dermatologist, was reportedly shot in an unprovoked attack in Palmer Square on Saturday 11 December.
A GoFundMe page has been set up in memory of Suraj, which has raised more than $27,000.
“One of the best people I knew”
As reported by CBS Chicago, Mahadeva was found with a wound to the head after gunshots were heard and later died at the hospital.
Anika Mahadeva, the cousin who set up the GoFundMe, describes Mahadeva as “one of the best people I knew,” and that he was “vibrant, confident, talented, and so full of life.”
“Whenever he smiled you’d smile too, and he’d make you laugh harder than anyone else. He lit up every room he was in,” she goes on adding that his name means “rising sun”.
Mahadeva is said to have cherished his family and friends and was passionate about his Sri Lankan and Filipino cultural heritage, as well as being an active member in the Asian and LGBTQ communities.
Speaking to CBS Chicago during a memorial on Thursday 16 December Saxon-Maldonado, a friend of Mahadeva’s, said he was “a beautiful, brilliant person – always charismatic, effervescent, happy.”
A statement by Asian American Advancing Justice reads: “We are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of another member of the Asian American community, Suraj Mahadeva.
“Suraj had his whole life ahead of him and we are heartbroken that his life was cut short.”
It’s understood that no arrests have been made by police.