Youngest Mundelein mass shooting victim Maclaine Schmidt remembered as gentle, humble

The youngest victim in last week’s mass shooting in Mundelein is being remembered as a gentle and kind young man who loved to cook.

Maclaine Schmidt, 22, of Lake Bluff, worked in the restaurant industry in the Chicago area.

Restaurateur, entrepreneur and activist Bruno Abate is among the people who’ve shared memories of Maclaine Schmidt on social media. He described Schmidt as a “brilliant and passionate chef.”

Abate went on to call Schmidt “one unbelievable young man.”

“Mac was kind, genuine and humble,” Abate wrote.

Schmidt was fatally shot Oct. 18 by his father, Bryan, inside his paternal grandparents’ home, Mundelein police have said.

Bryan Schmidt also murdered his parents, 80-year-old James Schmidt and 77-year-old Rebecca Schmidt; and his 37-year-old girlfriend, Nicole A. Heiser of Antioch, before killing himself.

The five bodies were discovered by police after another member of the Schmidt family couldn’t reach her relatives and requested a well-being check at the house. Two handguns police believe were used in the attacks and suicide notes were found.

The killings — and the killer’s possible motive — remained under investigation Monday.

Maclaine Schmidt had worked for Abate for the past two years, the celebrated restaurant owner said.

According to the narrative accompanying a fundraiser for his surviving family at gofundme.com/f/Maclaine-Schmidt, Schmidt “was carving out his own path in restaurant kitchens across the North Shore.”

Schmidt’s death “has left an enormous void in the lives of all who loved him,” according to the essay.

More than $17,000 had been raised for Maclaine Schmidt’s family through the online campaign as of Monday morning. Contributions will go toward funeral arrangements, counseling, legal costs and more, according to organizers.

Schmidt’s remains will be transformed into soil by a Maryland company called Earth Funeral, the Lake County coroner’s office indicated.

Funeral arrangements for his grandparents and father are pending.

Visitation for Heiser will run from 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at Marsh Funeral Home, 305 N. Cemetery Road, Gurnee. Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Wednesday at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church, 6401 Gages Lake Road, Gurnee.

rlissau@dailyherald.com