Chicago police were canvassing for victims and evidence after a person was shot during a large gathering near Ferdinand and Lawler in the Austin neighborhood early Sunday, August 9, when officers spotted a Jeep driving the wrong way down a one-way street. The traffic stop that followed turned up multiple loaded handguns, including a Glock 17 fitted with an illegal auto switch that lets a semi-automatic pistol fire like a machine gun. The occupants were taken into custody on weapons violations.
The shooting happened around 2:31 a.m. and quickly escalated into a 10-1, according to the 15th District – Austin, the Chicago Police Department’s community policing office for the district. In department radio terminology, a 10-1 signals that an officer needs immediate backup, a code that clears the airwaves and pulls in rapid assistance units from across the city, according to CBS News. That urgency explains why officers were still combing the area for evidence when the wrong-way Jeep caught their attention.
Real-time local crime monitoring reported that officers recovered more than 30 shell casings near the intersection following the shooting, according to CrimeLocal, a volume of gunfire that underscores just how chaotic the gathering had become before police arrived.
What Officers Found in the Jeep
Along with the Glock 17 equipped with the auto switch, officers recovered a Sig Sauer SP2022 chambered in .40 caliber, a Smith & Wesson MP40 also in .40 caliber, and a Glock 10x 9mm, per the 15th District’s account. All of the weapons were loaded. It remains unclear whether any of the Jeep’s occupants were responsible for firing the shots that left more than 30 casings scattered near Ferdinand and Lawler, an open question the department’s post does not address…