LINCOLN SQUARE — A woman was found fatally shot in a Lincoln Square alley early Thursday morning.
Around 6:24 a.m. a 62-year-old woman was found in the 4700 block of North Lincoln Avenue with a gunshot to the face, police said.
Officers pronounced her dead on the scene and the gunshot appeared to be self-inflicted, police said.
Detectives are conducting a death investigation pending autopsy results and the body was removed from the alley around 10:30 a.m., police said.
The Cook County Medical’s Examiner’s office didn’t have information about the woman’s identity or cause of death Tuesday morning.
Officers who arrived on the scene found a gun at the scene, said Ald. Matt Martin (47th) in a statement.
“I have spoken with the 19th Police District, which assured me that there is no threat to the area,” he said.
Detectives are investigating and anyone with relevant information is being asked to call police at 312-744-8261.
“It’s always a tragedy when we lose someone. My heart goes out to this woman’s family and friends,” Martin told Block Club. “If what is being reported is true, it’s so sad and our community mourns for her.”
The shooting was especially sad given that May is mental health awareness month, Martin said.
Anyone experiencing a mental health crisis should contact the North River Mental Health Center, a mental health hotline or his office, he said.
Around 7 a.m. police told Ruben Gonzalez, the manager at Pastores + Brunch, 4661 N. Lincoln Ave., to move his car away from where he had parked it at corner of the alley and Leland Avenue near where the woman was found, the manager told Block Club.
“I saw a lot of police arrive and I didn’t want to get close to them. I just listened when they said move, move, move,” Gonzalez said in Spanish. “I saw a man yelling ‘She’s here. She’s here’ to police but I didn’t want to get closer to see what was going on.”
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