SPOKANE, Wash. — Michael Lindblom died last weekend after Spokane police said he was shot "seemingly unprovoked" by a suspect in North Spokane. He was 24 years old.
He leaves behind 4 brothers and sisters, including his twin brother Shawn.
"He helped people, but he was more than that. He had his own dreams and aspirations," Shawn said. "He was a huge nerd. He loved video games, music, art. That was probably one of the things that we enjoyed together the most."
His sister Jenney said she was like a second mother for Michael after their dad passed when he was 2. She described Michael as a man who loved helping others.
"He'd go for days or weeks and you'd hear from him and he'd say, 'I'm going to be home.'," Jenney said. "Then we'd hear he's out helping somebody else doing something."
He also loved music and cooking, the latter of which his family said was how he bonded with them.
"Our family's from the south. So, it's just a super important thing, is just like being able to bond with your family over cooking," Shawn said. "Just like, it's time that we spent together."
His love of cooking is what led him to have dreams of one day being a chef with his own restaurant.
"He wanted to be a chef. That was his big dream," said Kim Lindblom, his mother. "He wanted to own his own restaurant. We offered to buy him a ... food truck, and it was like no, he needed to go help people instead."
Those dreams were cut short December 11th when Michael passed away after being shot. Now, his family is sharing their memories from the 24 years they got with Michael.
"I went out on the back porch, and he had put three animals that were like cement animals together. And they're gonna stay there for life now but but he was he just got the biggest," said Kim. "I mean, little things like that just made him so happy."
For twin brother Shawn, the loss is hard to describe.
"I'm just gonna miss him. He was my twin brother," Shawn said. "Very few people understand what that kind of connection is. It's kind of like losing another part of yourself, and never being able to get it back."
A GoFundMe has been set up to help the family living in the home where the shooting took place, as well as the Lindblom family.