CHICAGO — A woman was found shot to death in a South Side alley Saturday morning after a resident called 911 because her body had been in the same spot for about two days.
Chicago police found four shell casings in the alley, which was monitored by ShotSpotter until Mayor Brandon Johnson canceled the city’s contract with the gunfire detection system earlier this week.
Police responded to the 9500 block of South Avenue N around 9:30 a.m. after a resident called 911 to report that a woman had been in the same spot for two days. CPD said the woman, who remains unidentified, suffered gunshot wounds.
“Have we had ShotSpotters?” an officer asked his dispatcher when he arrived on scene.
He quickly recalled the new reality for Chicagoans: “Oh, I’m sorry. We don’t even have ShotSpotter. Contempt.”
The woman is the first murder victim found dead this week in an area previously served by ShotSpotter.
Ald. Peter Chico (10th) represents the department where the woman’s body was found. He has been an outspoken supporter of ShotSpotter and just last week urged Johnson to keep the system active.
The Tribune published this prescient paragraph in a story on ShotSpotter last spring:
“I used ShotSpotter. I’ve seen what happens. I’ve seen it work,” Chico said, recalling the technology that helped him find injured gunshot victims even though no one called 911. ‘That body that I have seen there many times, we cannot put a price tag on it.’
At least two other victims survived this week when they were shot in areas previously served by ShotSpotter, even though no one called 911 to report gunfire.
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.
Tim Hecke is the managing partner of CWBChicago. He started his career at KMOX, the legendary news radio station in St. Louis. From there he went on to work at stations in Minneapolis, Chicago and New York City. Tim went on to build syndicated radio news and content services serving each of America’s 100 largest radio markets. He became managing partner of CWBChicago in 2019. His email address is tim@cwbchicago.com
