Woman fatally shot outside Starbucks in Bronzeville

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A woman who was fatally shot in the chest Friday afternoon after she left a Starbucks in the Bronzeville neighborhood was a "completely innocent" victim, Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson said.

Yvonne Nelson, 49, was a city employee who worked as a 311 operator in the Office of Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC).

In a statement, OEMC said: "Yvonne Nelson was a dedicated and hardworking employee of the Office of Emergency Management and Communications, where she served as a communications operator in the 311 City Services division since 2002. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family, friends and colleagues during this difficult time. She will be deeply missed by her fellow staff at 311."

A man in his 20s, who was also shot multiple times, was the intended targeted - not Nelson, Johnson said. He was hospitalized in critical condition Friday evening. He is a documented gang member, Johnson said.

Police were searching Friday for the male shooter. They were seen searching nearby homes.

The incident happened at about 4 p.m. at 35th and South State streets, across from the Illinois Tech campus and down the street from U.S. Cellular Field.

Nelson, who lived in Bronzeville, was shot in the street after buying coffee. She was headed home after work.

She was not with the male shooting victim, police said.

"I just remember her kind of hanging out just waiting to get her drink," said Joshua Lott, who saw the victim in Starbucks before she was shot. "One minute she's there, and the next minute she's not. She's not even alive."

The shooting occurred just two blocks from the CPD headquarters, less than an hour after police held a press conference boasting about the arrest of nearly 140 people in connection to drug and guns offenses.

Witnesses told the 911 dispatcher that they heard six to eight shots.

"This incident right here highlights what I've been saying for the last month and a half about how brazen these violent offenders are," Supt. Johnson said.

Nelson's sister attends New Life Covenant Church on the South Side, where the pastor said the death is devastating for the family.

"This is a hard hit, it will be a void in this family and we ask everyone to remember them in their prayers," said Pastor John Hannah.

On Saturday, Pastor Hannah is organizing the sixth annual "Prayer on the 9," a public event which aims to protest the gun violence. The group will gather at 10 a.m. at East 79th and South Greenwood for prayer and song. Then, the group will lay in the street to form a two-mile line along 79th that will stretch to the Dan Ryan Expressway. Participants are asked to wear red and bring a photo of a loved one who has died of gun violence.