A vigil was held for the 5-year-old migrant boy who died at a Chicago shelter

CHICAGO– Hundreds of migrants and other people gathered Wednesday evening for a vigil for a 5-year-old migrant boy who died after falling ill at a Chicago shelter.

Jean Carlos Martinez was living in a warehouse retrofitted as a shelter in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood when he suffered a medical emergency, the city said. He was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at a hospital on Sunday afternoon.

Another six people living at the shelter — four children and two adults — were hospitalized this week, said Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford.

They all lived in the same shelter as Martinez, whose family arrived in Chicago on Nov. 30. The cause of death was still pending Wednesday, according to Cook County Medical Examiner records.

“This was a preventable death. This was also a predictable death,” said social worker Britt Hodgdon, who spoke at the vigil. “People are here. They are our brothers and sisters. They deserve to be safe, cared for and live in humane conditions.”

Migrant mothers cried during the vigil. A young migrant child came to put a candle on the spot and kept crying, because she missed her friend.

While city officials on Tuesday dismissed the idea of ​​an outbreak at the shelter, other shelters where people sleep on cots close together have seen clusters of illnesses, including chickenpox and hand, foot and mouth disease. Doctors in the area are increasingly concerned about RSV and COVID-19 this winter.

“These are difficult conditions for people to rest, feel good and take care of themselves,” said Dr. Evelyn Figueroa, who recently toured the shelter where the boy lived. She runs a nearby food bank and has spent most of her medical career working with the homeless, immigrants and low-income people.

There are approximately 2,300 people staying in the shelter. The space has about 10 isolation rooms for when people get sick, Figueroa said.