Man found fatally shot in an alley that used to be protected by ShotSpotter

CHICAGO — Police are investigating after a man was found fatally shot in an alley in the Roseland neighborhood early on New Year’s Day. Dispatchers received no calls of shots fired before the man was discovered in the 9400 block of South Harvard. The city’s ShotSpotter network monitored the area before Mayor Brandon Johnson deactivated the system on September 23.

CPD provided little information about what happened to the 29-year-old man, other than he was found with two gunshot wounds around 3:30 a.m. Bystanders tried to save the man by administering CPR, but their efforts were unsuccessful.

Ald. Anthony Beale (9th) represents the neighborhood where the man was killed. Beale was among the most vocal members of the City Council’s two-thirds majority that tried to keep ShotSpotter active beyond its September 23 contract expiration.

“When you look at the people that are behind me,” Beale said at a September 19 press conference, “we represent one end of the city to the other, and we are all in support of ShotSpotter.”

But the City Council’s efforts did not dissuade Johnson from ignoring the advice of his handpicked police superintendent and, according to a poll, the wishes of 70% of city residents.

About this series

As of 12:01 a.m. on September 23, 2024, Chicago terminated its relationship with ShotSpotter, a gunfire detection system deployed in 12 of the city’s most violence-impacted neighborhoods.

Mayor Brandon Johnson stubbornly refused to reconsider his decision to dismantle ShotSpotter, even though the vast majority of aldermen, many citizens, victim’s advocates, and his handpicked police superintendent requested that it remain in place.

This reporting series, named “Brandon’s Bodies,” seeks to document cases of shooting victims and police investigations that could have benefited from gunshot detection technology.

The general criteria for inclusion are a gunshot victim found outside 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 did not lead to the timely location of the victim.