One year after mayor unplugged ShotSpotter, another shooting victim dies with nobody reporting gunfire

A 53-year-old man was found shot to death on a West Pullman street Sunday afternoon, a murder committed without any 911 calls reporting gunfire in the area.

Exactly when the man was shot remains unclear, a detail missing in part because Mayor Brandon Johnson disconnected the city’s gunfire detection system almost exactly one year ago.

CPD said they were called to the 11800 block of South Emerald Avenue around 3:15 p.m. for a report of a person down. Officers found the man outside, unresponsive with a gunshot wound to his chest. He was rushed to Christ Hospital in critical condition but did not survive.

The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the man as Sheldon Fulford of Bloomington. Police reported finding no shell casings at the scene and the 911 caller who found Fulford did not see a gunman in the area, according to initial information.

Ald. Ronnie Mosley, whose 21st Ward includes the block where Fulford was shot, was among the two-thirds of City Council members who urged Johnson to extend Chicago’s ShotSpotter contract last year.

Johnson dismissed those pleas and the system went dark citywide at midnight as September 22 flipped to September 23, 2024.

Since ShotSpotter was deactivated, CWBChicago has tracked 57 victims whose shootings generated no 911 calls about gunfire or timely reports of someone being shot. That’s about one victim who would have benefited from the system every week.

About this series

At 12:01 a.m. on September 23, 2024, Chicago officially ended its use of ShotSpotter, the gunfire detection system that operated in the city’s most violence-plagued neighborhoods. The technology provided Chicago police with precise alerts about gunfire, often down to exact street addresses or specific spots like alleys, sidewalks, and gangways.

Mayor Brandon Johnson pressed ahead with the shutdown despite pleas from most aldermen, many residents, victims’ advocates, and even his own police superintendent, who wanted to keep it in place.

On this page, CWBChicago tracks cases where people were found shot in areas formerly covered by ShotSpotter—incidents where the system could have played a vital role in providing a timely response, especially when no 911 calls were made or callers gave vague or inaccurate details about gunfire locations.

Editor’s note: A case previously listed as #13 has been removed as of May 21, 2025, after the Cook County Medical Examiner determined the individual died by suicide in a fall from height.