A dispatcher with Chicago’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications was fatally shot on the city’s South Side early Friday, according to the city department and her union.
OEMC officials identified the victim as police communications operator Natalia Rodriguez.
The 50-year-old woman was driving an SUV in the 4500 block of South Wood Street in the New City neighborhood when she was struck by gunfire just after midnight, according to Chicago police.
Rodriguez, whom police didn’t identify by name, suffered multiple gunshot wounds and crashed into an unmarked gray SUV. She was taken to Stroger Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. The Cook County medical examiner’s office had not released Rodriguez’s identity as of Friday afternoon, but in a statement, OEMC said the department “would like to extend our deepest condolences to the family of Police Communications Operator (PCOI) Natalia Rodriguez.”
Rodriguez had dedicated a “decade of service” to OEMC and during her tenure, she “was a close colleague and friend to many who worked alongside her throughout the years.”
When the 911 call came through for the shooting, it was two of Rodriguez’s coworkers who responded, according to Paul Wright, president of IBEW Local 21, which represents operators and dispatchers at OEMC.
“They all work to serve the safety of the city,” Wright said in a call with the Tribune Friday afternoon. “They face adversity every day. When it’s one of our own over there, it just makes it that much more of a trying time.”
Wright offered condolences to Rodriguez’s family, friends and colleagues.
OEMC, in its statement, described Rodriguez as a hard worker and dedicated call taker.
“Natalia’s passing is a terrible loss to her family and to OEMC,” the department stated. “Her contributions to 9-1-1 Operations and the City of Chicago will not be forgotten.”
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Cook County Crime Stoppers announced on Friday that it was offering a reward of up to $10,000 for any information leading to the indictment or arrest of the person or persons responsible for the fatal shooting.
Police said Wentworth Area detectives were investigating the circumstances of the incident.
baiduhai’s Talia Soglin contributed.