Tragic Discovery of a 16-Year-Old Boy Shot Dead in Englewood
Chicago police officers made a heartbreaking discovery when they found the lifeless body of a 16-year-old boy among a large group gathered on an Englewood street overnight. Shockingly, nobody had called 911 about the shooting. Upon closer inspection, officers observed that it appeared the victim had been dragged across the street after sustaining multiple gunshot wounds.
Mayor Brandon Johnson’s decision to disconnect the city’s ShotSpotter gunfire detection system in September proved to be a critical misstep in this tragic incident. The area where the boy was murdered used to be monitored by gunshot sensors that could have alerted police to the crime even without a 911 call.
At around 1:37 a.m., officers spotted the large gathering at 72nd and Green and immediately requested additional units to respond to the scene, as per CPD dispatch audio recordings.
Witnesses at the scene flagged down officers and informed them that they had found an unresponsive person on the ground. Upon closer examination, the police confirmed that the boy had succumbed to his injuries from being shot multiple times. Tragically, he was pronounced dead at the scene.
A supervising officer noted that it appeared the boy had been shot on one side of the street and then dragged to the other side, indicating a callous disregard for human life.
Ald. David Moore (17th) had championed efforts in the City Council to retain the ShotSpotter system, garnering support from a majority of aldermen, the police superintendent, and Chicago residents. Despite these appeals, Mayor Johnson chose to terminate the city’s relationship with ShotSpotter on September 23.
In a subsequent attempt to salvage the situation, Moore and other stakeholders managed to raise $2.5 million to cover a portion of ShotSpotter’s annual cost. Regrettably, Mayor Johnson remained steadfast in his decision, leaving the system inactive to this day.
Documenting the Impact of ShotSpotter’s Removal
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, despite the vast majority of aldermen, many citizens, victim advocates, and his handpicked police superintendent requesting that it remain in place.
This reporting series, named “Brandon’s Bodies,” aims to highlight cases of shooting victims and police investigations that could have benefitted 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.
