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Police Checked Out Shots Fired 1 Hour Before Aaren O'Connor Was Found Shot

By Stephanie Lulay | February 10, 2016 8:59am | Updated on February 11, 2016 8:45am
 Aaren O'Connor was found unresponsive in her car after being shot in the head in Pilsen Friday night.
Aaren O'Connor was found unresponsive in her car after being shot in the head in Pilsen Friday night.
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PILSEN — Chicago Police responded to a call for shots fired an hour before a Pilsen area woman was found fatally shot while sitting in her car Friday night. 

About 6:40 p.m. Friday, Aaren O'Connor, 25, was seated inside of her 2009 gray Honda Civic at 2046 W. 21st St. talking to her sister and dad on the phone when she was fatally struck by gunfire. Details about the shooter are unknown, but police have recovered one firearm from the scene. 

Police responded to a 911 call of shots fired at about 6:40 p.m. Friday, Police Lt. Ozzie Valdez said at Chicago Police Headquarters Wednesday afternoon. Cops searched the area but did not immediately find any suspects or anyone injured, he said.

O'Connor's dad told ABC Chicago that he was on the phone with her when the line cut out. When he was able to speak to her again, she was incoherent, but said her head hurt. 

After O'Connor was shot, her father called her boyfriend, asking him to check on her. At that time, her boyfriend contacted her roommate, who found O'Connor and called 911, Valdez said. The second call was placed at about 7:30 p.m., and cops responded to the scene, finding the injured O'Connor, he said. 

"There is a bit of a time gap between when we believe the incident occurred and officers responded," Valdez said. 

Police are now seeking help from the public to solve O'Connor's murder. O'Connor's friends, police and Cook County Crime Stoppers plan to canvass the area at 11:30 a.m. Saturday. A $1,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest is now being offered. 

Area Central detectives have secured and are now reviewing private and CTA video footage from the area. Police continue to seek other video footage or information to help them identify the shooter. Anyone with information is asked to contact detectives at 312-747-8380 and is asked to reference case number HZ-141818. 

O'Connor was pronounced dead at Stroger Hospital at 4:48 p.m. Sunday, according to Becky Schlikerman, spokesperson for the Cook County Medical Examiner's office. Her autopsy has not been scheduled.

Friends of O'Connor said she's an innocent victim of Chicago's increasing gun violence. Her dad told ABC he urged her to move to a safer city. 

Chicago Police believe she was not the intended target of the shooting. No arrests have been made as the investigation is still ongoing, said Officer Thomas Sweeney, a Chicago Police spokesman.

O'Connor was relatively new to Chicago. She had moved from San Diego less than two years ago to be with her boyfriend, according NBC Chicago.

Messages placed to O'Connor's family were not immediately returned Monday.

The news shocked O'Connor's coworkers at Tomy, a toy company with an office in suburban Oak Brook. Willie Wilkov, who worked with O'Connor at the company, said the office is reeling following her loss, calling O'Connor "intelligent" and "compassionate."

"She was a very special person," Wilkov told DNAinfo. "She was experienced beyond her years. No one had a bad word to say about her."

Wilkov and other coworkers have started a GoFundMe to help support O'Connor's family. Any leftover funds will be put toward a memorial in her honor, Wilkov said. Friends and family have raised over $12,800 as of Monday night.

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