Chicago police could give final report soon on White Sox ballpark shooting, sources say

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Chicago police could soon issue a final report on the mysterious shooting at a White Sox game last summer.

Two women in the stands were shot and injured, and theories have varied about how it happened.

Spring training got underway Wednesday for White Sox pitchers and catchers, but as the team looks ahead to a new season, they do so still in limbo over how two women were wounded by gunfire back in August.

Police may soon provide some answers, but it may not provide a satisfactory answer for fans or the team.

The White Sox home opener is still a month and a half away, but in the coming weeks Chicago police are expected to finally provide an official statement about the findings of their investigation into the August 25th shooting.

During the game, two women were injured by bullets that struck them while sitting in the left field bleachers.

One 40 caliber bullet was recovered. Another bullet remains lodged in the leg of the woman who was most seriously wounded.

RELATED | White Sox ballpark shooting victim breaks silence, speaks exclusively with ABC7

Shortly after the incident, the acting Chicago Police Department Superintendent Fred Waller suggested the shots had to have been fired from inside the ballpark.

"It's still under investigation, we're dispelling a lot of things," Waller said at the time. "It's coming from outside is something that we've almost completely dispelled."

However, days later White Sox Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf told reporters Waller had updated him with different information.

"The police have not ruled out the possibility or the probability that the gunshots the other night came from outside the ballpark," Reinsdorf said.

Now, sources told ABC7 that police are poised to report that it's most likely the shots were fired outside the stadium based on several factors.

There was no visible reaction in the left bleachers that would have been expected if a gun had gone off nearby and there was no sign of any muzzle flash. No one tested positive for gunshot residue. Perhaps most significantly, the injuries to the victim's leg would have been much more extensive if the shot had been fired from the vicinity of the left field bleachers.

Sources said those conclusions are somewhat bolstered by an information from a ShotSpotter device nearly a mile south of the ballpark that detected six gunshots right around the time people were injured in the ballpark.

Current Chicago Police Department Superintendent Larry Snelling brushed off questions about the shooting the other day

"Listen, we'll talk about that another time," Snelling said.

The White Sox issued a statement about the investigation.

"We remain hopeful CPD's investigation will result in a conclusion, and that answers will be clarified for the public and our fans.... and we continue to believe strongly that the shots came from outside the park," the statement read in part.

Chicago police would only tell ABC7 that this remains an ongoing investigation.

One source said unless they can ever find the gun that fired the shots, they may never know 100% what actually happened.