On the morning of March 7, 2025, 17-year-old Drevon Watson, an African American male, was found fatally shot in an alley in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood. Police responded about 9:25 a.m. to reports of gunfire near the 4600 block of West West End Avenue; after roughly ten minutes of searching officers located shell casings at the mouth of the alley and discovered Watson with a gunshot wound to the chest. He was taken to Stroger Hospital and pronounced dead.

Area 4 detectives are investigating, but no arrests or suspect information have been released. The shooting occurred in an area formerly monitored by the ShotSpotter gunfire detection system, discontinued by city officials in 2024, and some critics say that removal of the technology may have delayed response times in incidents like this. Watson’s death is recorded on memorial sites documenting gun violence affecting Chicago youth.

If anyone has information about what happened that morning or knew Drevon, please share what you can with investigators.