Volunteers Saturday morning distributed flyers seeking any information after a young woman was shot in the head while sitting in her car on the city’s Southwest Side.
Aaren O’Connor, 25, was sitting in her car Friday evening, Feb. 5 in the 2000 block of West 21st Street when a bullet struck her in the back of the head. Police have yet to make any arrests.
Family and friends along with officers from the Chicago Police Department and volunteers with Cook County Crime Stoppers passed out approximately 2,000 flyers asking for tips. Crime Stoppers is offering a $1,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest.
Police said there are two conflicting gangs in the area and O'Connor may have been caught in the crossfire. Investigators also say they have a number of promising leads.
“There’s someone who’s within two or three blocks of this incident who’s watching this right now and who knows who did it, saw something, heard something, or knows something,” Gene Roy, Chief of Detectives for CPD, said during a news conference Saturday morning.
Although investigators 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.
“This could have been anyone sitting right there," Carlos Sorto, O'Connor's boyfriend, said. "It just happened to be Aaren. But it really could just have been anyone.”
David O'Connor, Aaren's father, said earlier this week that he was on the phone with his daughter at the time of the shooting and will never forget the last words they exchanged.
"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."
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"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."
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.
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.
Anyone with information is asked to call Area Central Detectives at (312) 747-8380 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-535-STOP.
