Woman struck by stray bullet dies after Heart of Chicago shooting

A 25-year-old woman died two days after she was struck by a stray bullet while talking to her father on the phone in the Heart of Chicago neighborhood on the South Side.

About 7:30 p.m. Friday, Aaren O’Connor was sitting in her 2009 gray Honda Civic in the 2000 block of West 21st Place and talking to her father on her cellphone when she was struck by gunfire, according to Chicago Police.

O’Connor, who lived on the same block, was taken to Stroger Hospital, where she was pronounced brain dead at 4:48 p.m. Sunday, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Police said O’Connor was not the intended target of the shooting, which started with a fight on the block where she was killed. Area Central detectives are looking for available video footage or information to identify a suspect.

Anyone with information is asked to call detectives at (312) 747-8380.

She worked as a brand manager for the Tomy toy company based in Oak Brook, and co-workers helped set up a GoFundMe page. The “Aaren O’Connor Memorial Fund” account on the GoFundMe website has raised $30,936 in two days for the San Diego native who moved to Chicago about a year ago.

“On Friday February 5, 2016, our friend and colleague was an innocent victim of the rising gun violence in Chicago,” according to the website.

“Aaren was a beautiful 25-year-old woman who was intelligent, compassionate, caring and hardworking with a deep love for her friends and family. She had a great sense of humor, love for adventure and a take charge personality. By simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time the world lost an amazing person and all of her potential.”

Donations will initially be used to help her family with funeral and memorial service expenses, but the rest of the money will be used to fund a scholarship in O’Connor’s memory, according to the website.