CHICAGO — A man shot during a robbery in a West Side park Sunday night sought help by walking to a nearby gas station. But records show no one called 911 to report the shots, which were fired in an area previously served by the city’s ShotSpotter network.
Police said the 48-year-old was at Horan Park in the 3000 block of West Van Buren when two armed men confronted him around 8 p.m. They demanded his property and shot him in the back, CPD said. The men fled on foot without receiving anything from the victim, who was listed in fair condition.
After being shot, the man went to the Marathon gas station, 340 South Sacramento, to get help. Officers followed the victim’s blood trail back to the park but were unable to find any shell casings, which could be valuable evidence for investigators. ShotSpotter technology made it easier to locate shell casings by pinpointing the location of the gunfire on a map for officers to refer to.
Ald. Jason Ervin (28th) represents the Horan Park neighborhood. He was one of only 14 Chicago aldermen who voted this month against a measure that could have extended ShotSpotter’s contract. He has been outspoken in his opposition to extending the deal.
“We need to stop playing chess, not checkers, because this type of technology continues to push the community away from what needs to be done, which is police involvement,” Ervin said before casting his “no” vote. WTTW reported.
In another development, the family of a woman fatally shot in a South Side alley Saturday morning has done just that launched a GoFundMe to help pay for her funeral expenses.
A neighbor called 911 around 9:30 a.m. Saturday to report that a woman had been lying in the same spot in his alley behind the 9500 block of South Avenue N at least the day before, according to police records. Officers discovered that the woman, 19-year-old Sierra Evans, had been fatally shot. Shell casings lay next to her. No one reported the shots that killed Evans.
Like Horan Park, the 9500 block of South Avenue N was served by the city’s ShotSpotter network until, by order of Mayor Brandon Johnson, the company’s contract expired last week.
Evans’ uncle, Mark Abrams, set up a GoFundMe to help cover unexpected funeral costs.
“We are trying to raise the money to bury her and put her in the ground so she can rest in peace,” Abrams wrote in his online plea. “Any amount of money would help us at this time.”
His efforts had raised $865 of an $8,000 goal as of Monday morning.
You can contact CWBChicago and submit anonymous tips via email: news@cwbchicago.com
