Chicago police officers swarmed the 1000 block of South May Street just before midnight on September 3 after multiple 911 callers reported a person with a gun in the area. When officers arrived, Beat 1261C took one person into custody on a charge of unlawful possession of ammunition.
The arrest, made at roughly 11:19 p.m., was announced by Chicago Police, 12th District Near West
The department’s post praised the responding officers and credited the beat unit for the arrest. The 12th District’s community-facing account, @ChicagoCAPS12, is not staffed around the clock and directs residents to call 311 for non-emergencies and 911 for emergencies.
Little Italy and Addams Park are near the 12th District station, according to Mapcarta.
Why an Ammunition Charge, Not a Weapons Charge
Illinois law treats ammunition possession as its own distinct offense, separate from carrying a firearm.
The charge is distinct from a weapons charge.
Federal prosecutors have also pursued ammunition-possession cases, including the South Shore alley ambush case Hoodline previously documented.
A District Watching Its Numbers
The May Street arrest is a gun-related enforcement action in the 12th District.
Weapons arrests remain a heavy caseload for Cook County’s court system. Chicago police log nearly 3,000 arrests annually for unlawful weapon and firearm-related possession, according to Cook County criminal justice records, prompting county courts to introduce diversion options specifically for non-violent gun possession offenses, as Hoodline reported in its coverage of the county’s new diversion program.
The District Station
The 12th District station is on Blue Island Avenue.
Hoodline has also reported a fatal shooting inside a Near West Side home on Jackson Boulevard earlier this month. A separate incident at 13th and Throop was also reported. Neither the identity of the person arrested on May Street nor whether a firearm was ever recovered has been disclosed by police.
