Alexandria “Alexa” M. Baute, a 27-year-old woman, was killed on the evening of April 7, 2020, while standing outside a convenience store in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood. The shooting unfolded during the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, when residents were being asked to remain several feet apart while waiting to enter businesses. Baute had walked to a 7-Eleven near the intersection of Milwaukee and Fullerton avenues with her friend, Ricky Gould, and was waiting in a socially
distanced line outside the store.
Shortly after 8 p.m., Baute was standing on the sidewalk in the 2900 block of West Fullerton Avenue when gunfire erupted nearby. A bullet struck her in the chest, causing her to collapse outside the store. Gould later recalled that the moment was so sudden and confusing that he did not initially realize what had happened. Emergency responders rushed Baute to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center in critical condition, but doctors were unable to save her. Authorities determined that her death was a homicide caused by a gunshot wound.
Investigators did not believe that Baute had been deliberately targeted. Available reports described her as an innocent bystander struck by a stray bullet, although police did not publicly identify the intended target or explain precisely where the gunfire originated. Detectives recovered surveillance recordings from the area and began examining the footage for images of the shooter, possible vehicles and witnesses who may have seen activity surrounding the shooting. Despite the busy commercial location, no publicly identified suspect immediately emerged.
Baute was known as Alexa by relatives and friends. She had attended Columbia College Chicago and was remembered as outgoing, fiercely independent and unapologetically herself. Friends described her as someone whose presence brought energy and warmth into a room. Her father, Jeffrey Baute, said she was vibrant, happy and full of life, with a strong desire to make other people happy. She had been employed in the restaurant industry but had recently lost her job as businesses closed or reduced operations during the pandemic.
Her killing carried an especially painful sense of randomness. Baute was only blocks from her apartment and was following public-health precautions when the bullet struck her. Those close to her struggled with the knowledge that an ordinary trip to a neighborhood store had ended her life. Friends organized a fundraiser to help with expenses, while relatives and supporters appealed publicly for information that could identify the person responsible.
Baute’s family offered a reward for information leading to an arrest. Early reports placed the reward at $6,000, and later coverage described the available amount as $8,000. Her father and friends returned to the corner where she had been shot to plead for witnesses to come forward. They emphasized that detectives had obtained surveillance footage but still needed information from people who may have known who fired the weapon or what dispute led to the gunfire.
No reliable public reporting located for this synopsis identifies a suspect, arrest, criminal charge, trial or conviction in Baute’s killing. Reports published during the investigation stated that no one had been taken into custody and that Chicago police detectives continued working the case. Without a named offender, there have been no publicly documented legal proceedings or sentencing connected to her death. Alexandria Baute’s homicide therefore remains publicly unresolved, leaving her family without the accountability they sought and investigators still dependent on witnesses or new evidence to reveal who fired the bullet that killed her.
