CHICAGO – A woman was found shot late Friday night in Back of the Yards, Chicago police said. The victim, about 38 years old, waved to a passerby in the 2100 block of West 47th Street to call 911 on her behalf around 11:50 p.m.
CPD had not received any calls about shots fired in the area, which was served by the city’s ShotSpotter network, until Mayor Brandon Johnson severed the city’s dealings with the company on September 23.
Officers applied a tourniquet to the victim’s arm, slowing her blood loss until paramedics arrived. Police said the woman was in good condition at Mount Sinai Hospital.
Ald. Julia Ramirez (12th) represents the neighborhood where the woman was found. The councilor was among the 33% minority of city council members who supported Johnson’s decision to end the city’s ShotSpotter service. Most other councilors whose departments had ShotSpotter devices voted to keep the network in place.
Ramirez kept a low profile regarding the ShotSpotter issue. A search for quotes from her about the technology turned up nothing.
The only time she ever mentioned the gunfire detectors on her Facebook page was in November 2023, after officers responding to a ShotSpotter alert found three men fatally shot in the 3100 block of West 39th Place.
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 is a gunshot victim found outdoors in a location previously served by ShotSpotter, with either (1) no accompanying 911 calls about gunfire, or (2) calls about gunfire in a general area that is not lead to the timely location of the victim.
