Woman shot at White Sox game last year files lawsuit against team, stadium owners

A woman struck by a bullet while attending a Chicago White Sox game last year is seeking more than $50,000 in damages from the team and the Illinois Sports Facility Authority, which owns and operates Guaranteed Rate Field.

The woman, identified in the suit as Jane Doe, accuses the team and stadium owners of negligence and claims they allowed someone to bring a gun into the park during a match with the Oakland A's on Aug. 25, 2023, resulting in her being shot in the leg.

About 7:30 that night, a 42-year-old woman was hit in the leg and a 26-year-old woman suffered a graze wound to her abdomen when they were struck by gunfire during the game's fourth inning, Chicago police and team officials said at the time.

Both women were sitting in the area of Section 161 of Guaranteed Rate Field, which faces the outfield, when television cameras recorded the crowd's confused reaction. Police officials later faced criticism for allowing the game to continue.

A team spokesman denied the shots came from inside the stadium, arguing the crowd's reaction would have been significantly different if they had.

The suit claims employees working at the stadium were not properly trained and the security services they provided were inadequate to protect attendees.

More than a year after the incident, it remains unclear how the two women were shot and where the bullets came from.

In an update on the investigation last year, former Interim Chicago Police Supt. Fred Waller told reporters that police still didn't know if the bullets came from inside or outside the stadium and likely would never be 100% sure.

The police department said Monday that the investigation was still open and active.

The woman who filed the suit continues to deny early speculation that she brought a gun into the park that night and accidentally shot herself.

Her attorneys argued the anonymous filing was needed to "protect her identity in this matter as her cause of action involves an incident that received significant media attention and public scrutiny, speculating, falsely, that the Plaintiff had committed a crime and an act of self-harm," court records show.

The woman has requested a trial by jury.

The first hearing is scheduled for Nov. 12.