A 65-year-old man found yelling and waving his hand for help on a West Side street overnight was suffering from a gunshot wound, police discovered. It’s unknown when the man was shot while walking because no one contacted 911 to report the shooting, and Mayor Brandon Johnson turned down the city’s ShotSpotter network, which was used to monitor the region, in September.
According to Chicago police, the victim reported that he was walking when he heard gunfire and realized he had been wounded in the right ankle around 3:06 a.m. He slumped to the ground near the 100 block of South Hamlin and began crying for aid. He was transported to Stroger Hospital in excellent condition.
Ald. Jason Ervin (28th) represents East Garfield Park, the location of the man’s shooting. Ervin was part of a City Council minority that backed Johnson’s decision to cancel Chicago’s contract with the ShotSpotter gunfire detection system. The city’s police superintendent, two-thirds of the City Council, and 70% of Chicago citizens all supported keeping the technology in place.
Brandon’s Bodies
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,” 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.
