Alejandro Castaneda, 19, a Hispanic/Latino male, was shot and killed late on October 10, 2025, while standing in the driveway of a home on the 35700 block of North Wilson Road in Ingleside, Illinois, where he had been attending a birthday party. Deputies arrived around 11:15 p.m. to find him gravely wounded; life-saving efforts by first responders were unsuccessful and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Lake County Coroner later identified him and reported he died from a gunshot wound to the chest. Authorities noted Castaneda was from Round Lake Beach, and the homicide investigation began immediately following the shooting.
Detectives determined that an argument had erupted between two groups near the end of the driveway during the gathering. The argumentative group left, then drove past the home and opened fire toward the crowd, striking Castaneda before fleeing. Early public alerts from the sheriff's office described the incident as a drive-by attack, and local outlets reported that witnesses and partygoers helped piece together the sequence of events.
Within days, investigators identified a suspect vehicle and traced it to Yurem Mejia-Gomez, 18, of Round Lake Beach. Detectives recovered a firearm believed to have been used in the shooting—located after an explosive-detection K-9 alerted on a car during a search—and prosecutors approved charges including two counts of first-degree murder and aggravated discharge of a firearm. Mejia-Gomez was taken into custody; a judge later ordered him detained pending trial, denying pretrial release. Coverage of the court appearance noted the judge's comments about the danger posed and set forthcoming court dates as the case moved forward.
As of the latest reports, authorities have not announced charges for additional participants from the group that left and returned, though the investigation has described multiple people involved in the initial confrontation before the gunfire. Officials continue to emphasize that the case remains active, even after the arrest, and have encouraged anyone with information about the shooting to come forward.
