Chicago alderman urges Mayor Johnson to reactivate ShotSpotter after death of Sierra Evans

CHICAGO - A Chicago alderman is calling on Mayor Brandon Johnson to reactivate the city’s ShotSpotter gunfire detection system after the shooting death of 19-year-old Sierra Evans, whose body was found more than nine hours after she was shot on the Southeast Side.

Police discovered Evans’ body Saturday morning around 9:30 a.m. in the 9500 block of South Avenue N after a resident called 911.

Ald. David Moore of the 17th Ward said ShotSpotter could have notified police of the gunfire within "less than 30 seconds" after shots were fired at around midnight.

"My colleague, Ald. Chico, contacted SoundThinking, the parent company of ShotSpotter, to see if they had any alerts," Moore said in a statement. "They informed him they did, and he forwarded the response to me. I listened to the alert of gunfire, which was awful to hear."

Moore believes Evans’ death might have been prevented if ShotSpotter had been operational.

"It’s unfortunate the young woman’s death is an example of how this tragedy may have been avoided if the ShotSpotter technology was still active. Instead of a resident finding her body hours later, the sound of gunfire would have alerted CPD to multiple shots at 12:06 a.m.," the alderman said.

Moore described the delay in finding Evans’ body as "heartbreaking" and said the incident underscores the importance of reactivating the gunshot detection technology across the city.

"While the politics of this city is trying to minimize this tragedy, I’m not going to remain silent," Moore added. "This is about saving lives… In the name of safety and on behalf of the residents across the city, I am calling upon the administration to reactivate ShotSpotter immediately."

Mayor Johnson has expressed skepticism about ShotSpotter’s effectiveness as a crime-fighting tool.

As of Monday, no suspects were in custody for Evans' shooting.