CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – A 19-year-old man was shot and killed on East 55th near Cobleigh Court at around 7:10 p.m. Friday has been identified as Jauquim Torres.
Torres was walking home to celebrate his birthday on April 11 when he was shot and left to die on a sidewalk. Cleveland EMS tells 19 News Torres was pronounced dead at the scene.
On Sunday, his family and close friends gathered at a memorial set up in the spot where he took his last breath.
Torres’s sister, Jamie Hloska, was distraught, angry, and determined to get justice. She used paint to write on the sidewalk the words, ‘You still matter.’
“They robbed him of his life. He can’t be the father to his child. All he had to do was graduate and become a father. He didn’t get to meet his child,” Hloska said.
At just 19 years old, Torres of Cleveland had his entire life ahead of him. Now his loved ones say instead of celebrating his birthday, they are forced to plan his funeral.
His grandmother, Edith Ellis, through tear-filled eyes said he was her heart.
“Oh, he was so excited about his child, so excited. He was also excited about graduating and walking across the stage to receive his diploma next month,” said Ellis. “Now there’s no graduation, and he’ll never see his child. For what? There’s no reason.”
For Daniela Jones, the mother of his child, who is five-and-a-half months pregnant, this is a nightmare she can’t wake up from. What she was looking forward to has been taken away.
“Getting the chance to see him be a father is what I will miss most,” said Jones. “He was so excited about it. It’s not something planned. He had already picked a name before we knew the gender.”
Family and friends gathered around the memorial of candles and balloons to hold hands and pray.
“Father God, we ask you to give us justice. We ask you to give him peace,” they said.
Through their tears and long embraces, loved ones are demanding justice for Torres.
“I have to put my brother in the ground,” said Hloska.
The Cleveland man’s loved ones, including his sister, told 19 News they believe the killer is someone Juaquim Torres knew and trusted.
“He did what he was supposed to — he didn’t deserve this,” said Hloska.
Torres, according to his grandmother, was someone who absolutely loved his family, and ironically, it’s his death that has finally brought them all together.
“I’ve tried for years to get them together. They won’t even talk to each other, half of them. It took my grandson’s death to bring this family together. Everybody loved him, so everybody pulled together,” Ellis said.
The victim’s family has set up a GoFundMe account, hoping to raise enough money to give Torres a proper funeral and burial.
They are hoping police detectives can provide them with some answers about what led up to the deadly shooting.
At this point, no arrests have been made.
19 News has reached out to Cleveland Police for more information, but we have not yet heard back.
Copyright 2025 WOIO. All rights reserved.
