Police have released new details in the homicide investigation of a 25-year-old woman killed over the weekend when a stray bullet struck her in the head in the city's Heart of Chicago neighborhood.
Aaren O’Connor was shot while returning from work Friday. Police said she was sitting in her car in the 2000 block of West 21st Street when a bullet struck her in the back of the head.
Lt. Ozzie Valdez said the first call for shots fired occurred at 6:40 p.m. Friday, but police and paramedics didn't arrive until 7:30 p.m. The address where the call came from was not where she had parked and officers who initially arrived didn't see anything.
O'Connor’s roommate found her unresponsive in the vehicle. She was rushed to John H. Stroger Hospital of Cook County in critical condition and died Sunday, her family said.
"I knew right away that we lost our baby," said her father, David O’Connor. "It’s just absolutely the worst time of my life."
David O'Connor said he was on the phone with his daughter at the time of the shooting and will never forget the last words they exchanged.
"She kept saying repeatedly, 'My head hurts, my head hurts,'" David O'Connor said. "I just wish I could have told her that I knew what was going on and I could have told her one more time that I love her and that I'm so proud of her."
"We believe that after the conversation she had with her family, her father did an amazing thing," Valdez said. "He knew what to do, called someone he could contact here in Chicago, who then in turn made some more phone calls, and at that time police arrived and an ambulance was summoned. So there was a bit of a time gap between when we believe the incident occurred and the officer responded."
Police said there are two conflicting gangs in this area and O'Connor may have been caught in the crossfire.
Although they are currently reviewing private video as well as footage from a CTA bus, police are asking anyone who has information about the incident to come forward.
Aaren O’Connor moved to Chicago a year and a half ago from San Diego to work at Tomy, a toy company with offices in suburban Oak Brook.
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"This is a young lady who moved to Chicago to pursue her dreams. She graduated from SDSU with high honors and this occurs," Valdez said.
Her father said he was nervous about his daughter’s move from the beginning.
"I don’t want to say devastated but fearful, because I knew the kind of things happening in Chicago," David O’Connor said.
The move also meant Aaren O'Connor would finally be with her long-distance boyfriend, who lived in suburban Elgin. The couple met while studying abroad in Japan and was looking forward to living together after years of long distance.
"When it really happens to you, it feels like a void," said her boyfriend Carlos Sorto. "It was hard, I needed to be there every moments Aaren was there. Don't believe anything could've been done for her."
Doctors told Sorto that because of the way the bullet hit Aaren's head, she wouldn't have made it, no matter how quickly she'd gotten help. It doesn't make the pain of losing her easier.
"Sad to say but I want to go to sleep and never wake up. Horrible feeling," Sorto said.
Friends and colleagues in the Chicago area say they vow to keep Aaren O'Connors memory alive by giving at-risk kids in Chicago an outlet to keep them away from violence.
Donations will fund an after-school program and scholarship in her name.
"We want to target people who want to travel abroad since we know that was something that was very passionate for her," said her co-worker Sarah Moen. "To myself, she was a little sister. I saw all the potential in the world in her."
A GoFundMe page had been set up to help O’Connor’s family pay for her funeral. Remaining donations will start the scholarship program in her memory.
"Our long-term goal is to develop an after school program at a community center in Aaren’s name where Chicago’s youth can come together to receive the caring and resources they need to choose a non-violent path and open their hearts to others," the page reads. "Other suggestions to provide healing to our community in Aaren’s memory are welcome and encouraged. May she rest in peace."
