Marine who served in Iraq fatally shot in parking lot

[thedrifter]

Marine who served in Iraq fatally shot in parking lot

Published January 19, 2007

HAMMOND -- The family of a Chicago ex-Marine was still in shock Thursday night, less than a day after he was shot to death in the parking lot of a bar in Hammond.

Isaias Cintron, 24, who returned from a four-year stint with the Marines in November after serving in Iraq as a combat engineer, pulled into the parking lot of the Portside Inn on Indianapolis Boulevard about 1:30 a.m. when gunfire erupted from another car, said his father, Tomas Cintron.

"They just opened fire on the car indiscriminately," Cintron said. "My son was killed."

Hammond police were not available for comment late Thursday, but Cintron said police "had no idea" what the motive was. He said three men who were with his son said there had been no confrontations leading up to the attack.

Cintron's father said his son grew up on Chicago's Southeast Side and attended Kennedy-King College for two years before enlisting in the Marines.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Marine Back From Iraq Killed Outside Indiana Bar
CBS 2 CHICAGO ^ | 19 JANUARY 2007 | CBS 2 CHICAGO

Man Had Recently Returned From Two Tours Of Duty

(CBS) HAMMOND, Ind. A Chicago Marine who planned to become a police officer was killed outside a bar Thursday, less than two months after returning from his second tour of duty in Iraq.

Marine Cpl. Isaias Cintron, 24, died after someone in another car opened fire on his car outside the Portside Pub in Hammond, Ind. His car was blanketed by bullets, shattering the windows and hitting him in the back.

He died at St. Catherine Hospital in East Chicago, Ind., at 4:45 a.m.

"It's the most painful experience I've ever suffered," Cintron’s father, Tomas Cintron, said of his son’s death. “To come home, supposedly to the safety of your home, your neighborhood, to a local pub, and just get riddled with bullets -- it’s senseless.”

The family says police have no motive or suspects in his death.

“It was just a mistaken identity,” Cintron’s older sister Yocelin Cintron said Friday. “He was a peaceful guy. He never got in a fight with anybody.”

The Marine, a combat engineer, had returned from his second tour of duty in Iraq a week before Thanksgiving. He had served in two of the country’s most dangerous regions – Fallujah and Anbar povince.

Another sister, Yolian Cintron, says her brother's four years of service in the Marines meant so much to him that he will be laid to rest in his uniform. She says she has many beautiful memories of her brother, but one stands out above the rest.

“His cell phone password was my name, so that meant a lot to me,” she said.

Police said another passenger in the car, Cintron’s friend Vincente Hernandez, was grazed in the left arm. Witnesses told officers they heard gunshots from an assault rifle.

Detectives are looking into whether Thursday morning's incident is related to a shooting in Gary earlier this week.

According to family members, Cintron had wanted become a police officer. After graduating from Washington High School in 2000, he completed a two-year degree in criminal justice at Kennedy-King College. He planned to take a police test in March, Yocelin Cintron said.

“He always protected us, always,” she said.

Cintron was also popular in the Marines, Yocelin said. He would cook traditional Puerto Rican meals for his buddies using a George Foreman Grill and a small skillet.

“His room was always the hang out spot,” she said. “He always had friends over.”

“A diehard Marine -- that’s what he was,” Yolian Cintron added. “He was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Probably got mixed up for somebody else.”

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Marine shot months after homecoming

January 20, 2007
By Isaac Wolf Staff writer

Less than two months after returning from serving in Iraq, a man from Chicago's East Side, who planned to become a police officer, was killed outside a bar.

Marine Cpl. Isaias Cintron, 24, died Thursday after someone in another car opened fire on his car outside the Portside Pub in Hammond, Ind.

"It was just a mistaken identity," his older sister Yocelin Cintron said Friday. "He was a peaceful guy. He never got in a fight with anybody."

Cintron put the car in park when it was blanketed by bullets, shattering the windows and hitting him in the back.

He died at St. Catherine Hospital in East Chicago, Ind., at 4:45 a.m. Thursday.

A friend, Vincente Hernandez, was grazed in the left arm, police said.

Cintron, who returned to Chicago days before Thanksgiving, was a combat engineer who served two tours of duty in Iraq's most dangerous regions, Fallujah and Anbar province.

For years, Cintron wanted become a police officer. After graduating from Washington High School in 2000, he completed a two-year degree in criminal justice at Kennedy-King College. He planned to take a police test in March, his sister said.

"He always protected us, always," Yocelin Cintron said.

Cintron was popular in the Marines, his sister said. He would cook traditional Puerto Rican meals for his buddies using a George Foreman Grill and a small skillet.

"His room was always the hangout spot," she said. "He always had friends over."

Witnesses told officers they heard gunshots fired from an assault rifle.

Detectives are looking into the possibility the attack may be related to a similar shooting in Gary earlier this week.

Isaac Wolf may be reached at
iwolf@dailysouthtown.com
or (70 633-5973.

Contributing: Post-Tribune of NW Indiana

Ellie