Stray Bullet Kills Lake Forest Academy Grad On Anniversary Trip
MEXICO CITY — A woman from the north suburbs was fatally shot Saturday while celebrating her first wedding anniversary in Mexico City. Authorities confirmed the 27-year-old Tatiana Mirutenko, a Hawthorn Woods native who lived in San Francisco, was struck in the head by a stray bullet while at a restaurant in Lomas de Chapultepec, an upscale neighborhood.
Mirutenko and her husband, James Hoover, were exiting a restaurant with several friends when two gunmen on a motorcycle approached and opened fire. According to a statement from the Mexican attorney general’s office, the shooter is believed to have been targeting a 46-year-old man who worked at a bouncer nearby.
Investigators are reviewing surveillance footage of the incident and believe the gunmen fled the Mexican capitol into the surrounding province, according to the attorney general’s office. The U.S. consulate confirmed Mirutenko’s death and offered no further details. No arrests have been made.
Mirutenko and Hoover had been on a quest to dine at as many restaurants awarded Michelin stars as they could, according to KGO-TV. The area of the shooting is known as a popular tourist destination. They had been traveling with three other couples for their wedding anniversary after not going on a honeymoon after their July 1, 2017 wedding.
“A year ago, we were selecting flowers for the wedding. Today we were looking at flowers for the funeral,” Tatiana’s father, Wasyl Mirutenko told the station.
Mirutenko graduated Lake Forest Academy before heading to Clemson University, where she was a standout volleyball player. One of her college professors recalled her as an “especially intelligent” staple of the economics department who was never afraid to ask questions.
“She was charting a course for her life, and really always thinking about the future and working really hard,” professor Raymond Sauer told CNN.
Mirutenko moved to San Francisco three years ago to take a job as an investor relations analyst at Nektar Therapeutics before getting married July 1, 2017, WMAQ-TV reported.
“There’s not gonna be a day that goes by that we don’t think about her,” her sister Roma Mirutenko told the station.
A spokesperson for her employer described Mirutenko as a “bright and passionate rising star” in a statement. “She was always willing to help on any project across the company and had an incredibly strong work ethic,” it said.
Mirutenko’s mother said her daughter inspired her to be a better person.
“She would give 200 percent,” Natalie Mirutenko told KGO. “I’d give my life if she could just come back.”
#SanFrancisco resident Tatiana Mirutenko was celebrating her first wedding anniversary in Mexico City where she was shot and killed by a stray bullet on Saturday, one day before she was supposed to return home. pic.twitter.com/r070z1jiMT
— Lilian Kim (@liliankim7) July” class=”redactor-linkify-object”>https://twitter.com/liliankim7… 10, 2018