CHICAGO – A Chicago Fire Department truck crew responding to a large fire in Little Village Friday evening ended their response when they found a woman shot in the 3400 block of West Van Buren.
The firefighters reported hearing gunfire in the area, but no 911 callers reported the shooting before CFD found the woman. ShotSpotter, the gunfire detection system, monitored the 3400 block of West Van Buren until Mayor Brandon Johnson pulled the plug on the technology on September 22.
Chicago police said the victim, a 30-year-old woman, was walking when someone fired shots from a vehicle around 9:19 p.m. The fire truck crew encountered the woman and requested an ambulance more than ten minutes later, at 9:31 p.m. pm According to CPD, she was in critical condition with a gunshot wound to her abdomen.
Investigators found no shell casings at the scene. ShotSpotter made it easier for police to find those sometimes valuable pieces of evidence by pinpointing the spot where shots were fired.
Before Johnson ended the city’s relationship with ShotSpotter, 33 councilors voted to bypass the mayor by giving the police commissioner the authority to enter into a contract with the company. Johnson has decided not to sign or veto the measure, which could end in a courtroom showdown if pro-ShotSpotter councilors decide to seek enforcement from a judge.
However, Ald. Jason Ervin (28th), who represents the neighborhood where the woman was found Friday, was one of only 14 aldermen who voted against a last-minute measure. He defended his decision by claiming that ShotSpotter reduced citizen participation in community safety meetings and caused fewer people to call 911.
Advocates argue that people in some Chicago neighborhoods, who are all too familiar with the sound of gunshots, don’t call 911 every time they hear shots. ShotSpotter, they said, filled a void.
About this series
On September 23, 2024 at 12:01 a.m., Chicago ended its relationship with ShotSpotter, a gunfire detection system deployed in 12 of the city’s most violence-affected neighborhoods.
Mayor Brandon Johnson stubbornly refused to reconsider his decision to dismantle ShotSpotter, even as the vast majority of councilors, many citizens, victims’ advocates and his hand-picked police commissioner asked for it to remain in place.
This reporting series, called “Brandon’s Bodies,” seeks to document shooting victim cases and police investigations that could have benefited from gunshot detection technology.
The general criteria for inclusion are (1) a gunshot wound victim, (2) found outside, (3) with no accompanying 911 calls about gunfire.
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