Dayna Less, a 24-year-old pharmacy resident, was tragically killed on November 19, 2018, in a shooting at Mercy Hospital in Chicago, Illinois. Dayna, who was of Serbian descent, was stepping off an elevator when she was fatally shot by Juan Lopez. Lopez had entered the hospital moments after confronting and killing his former fiancée, Dr. Tamara O'Neal, in the hospital parking lot.
He also killed Chicago Police Officer Samuel Jimenez before being shot dead by police in a running gun battle.
Dayna Less had a bright future ahead of her. She had graduated from Purdue University with a PharmD in May and was in her first year of pharmaceutical residency at Mercy Hospital. She was planning to return for her second year and was also preparing for her wedding in June to her fiancé, Adam Keric. Her father, Brian Less, described her as intelligent, funny, kind, and always willing to help others.
Following the tragic incident, a 12-count lawsuit was filed against the hospital and its hired security company, SDI Security Inc., in November 2019. The lawsuit alleged that the hospital and SDI failed to follow their own protocols in response to the shooting, including failing to issue a "Code Silver" alert for an active shooter or implement a lockdown of the building. The complaint contended that these failures prevented Dayna from being warned about the threat and allowed Lopez to re-enter the hospital after shooting O'Neal in the parking lot. In January 2024, the family of Dayna Less received a $20 million settlement in a wrongful-death case, setting a new record in Illinois for such cases involving a decedent who left no dependents.
Dayna's death was a devastating loss for her family, friends, and the community. Her father emphasized that she should not be remembered as a victim but as a special person with unique gifts who had a profound impact on those around her.
