Chicago Rapper John Doe Killed in Highway Shooting

Chicago's violence once again claimed a member of the city's music community as reports this morning described the shooting death of 22-year-old Jonathan Ortiz, also known as rapper John Doe, on the highway early Thursday morning.

The shooting allegedly happened on the Eisenhower Expressway near East Garfield Park. According to initial reports, a woman was also hit in the gunfire, but was transported to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries, Ortiz was pronounced dead at the scene. Police responded to reports of shots fired around 6 AM in the westbound lanes of I-290 near the Laramie exit and found the scene.

The shooting is just the latest in a year that has broken records locally for both shootings and homicides, placing Chicago at the top of both statistics nationally. The violence here has become a talking point in the national presidential elections and a consistent issue for local organizers. Last year, fellow rapper Logan was grazed by a bullet fired at him while riding on the I-94 near Bridgeport and earlier this year King Louie similarly survived a graze wound to the head while in his vehicle, narrowly missing his own brush with death. It's all too much, and this latest news is simply a furtherance of the epidemic facing many in our city. Our prayers go out to Ortiz's friends and family, we'll have more information available as it comes about.