On Sunday morning in Chicago’s East Side neighborhood, a young life was tragically ended. Seventeen-year-old Gabriella “Gabby” Arellano was found in the alley in the 11000 block of South Mackinaw Avenue around 10:18 a.m., suffering from two gunshot wounds to the head, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office and the Chicago Police Department.
Officers from the CPD’s 4th District responded to a call that a female was unconscious in that alley. When they arrived, they located Gabby unresponsive and pronounced her dead at the scene. No suspects are in custody at this time.
Preliminary information released by investigators indicates that surveillance footage apparently shows Gabby walking with two unidentified males shortly before gunfire broke the morning quiet. Yet no 911 calls about shots being fired were logged in that time frame, raising troubling questions about what went wrong and who might have witnessed the moments leading up to the shooting.
The horrific discovery comes at a time when the area’s gunfire-detection monitoring system, known widely as ShotSpotter, has recently been discontinued in the neighborhood — a development noted by investigators as they consider whether the change in monitoring may have affected response.
The Area Two Bureau of Detectives is leading the homicide investigation and is urging anyone with information to submit anonymous tips to CPDTip.com or contact the 4th District at (312) 747-8205. Key details, such as the identity of the two individuals seen in the footage and the motive for the killing, remain unknown.
This heartbreaking case has left the local community shaken — the prospect that a teenager could be walking in broad daylight, presumably safe, and then moments later be fatally shot, raises alarm and sorrow in equal measure. Families and neighbors are now left asking what could have been done, how this came to happen, and when justice will be served.
Gabby’s life, just 17 years young, ended far too soon. Her family, friends, and neighborhood now await closure, answers, and hope that someone will come forward to bring accountability for this senseless loss.