It started with a blurry photo. A grainy behind-the-scenes image from the 2025 One Chicago crossover shoot surfaced on social media—and in it, fans spotted something they weren’t prepared for: Detective Kim Burgess being loaded into an ambulance.
Within hours, the Chicago P.D. fandom was ablaze with speculation. Had she been shot again? Was this the end of her arc? Or was it all a clever misdirect to hype up the most intense crossover the franchise had ever produced?
The photo in question, allegedly taken by a background actor, showed what appeared to be Marina Squerciati (who plays Burgess) on a stretcher, being rushed into a Chicago Med ambulance by paramedics. No context, no visible injury, just a stunned Burgess—and the internet lit up.
“I swear, if they kill off Burgess, we riot,” one fan posted on Reddit, sparking a thread that quickly racked up thousands of upvotes.
NBC refused to comment, adding fuel to the fire.
While nothing in the promotional trailers hinted at Burgess being injured, showrunners for Chicago P.D. had teased that “no character was safe” in this year’s crossover. And with Marina’s contract reportedly up for renewal, fans were bracing for anything.
The speculation hit especially hard because Kim Burgess has already survived one of the most traumatic arcs in P.D. history. In Season 8, she was kidnapped, beaten, and left for dead—an ordeal that changed her character forever. Since then, she’s struggled with PTSD, attempted to find emotional balance, and fought to be both a cop and a mother.
“She’s the emotional heartbeat of the show,” one fan account tweeted. “If this is how they write her out, it better be unforgettable.”
As the three-part crossover unfolded on screen, tension grew.
In the second hour, Burgess and Ruzek were seen chasing down a lead tied to the arson investigation that began in Chicago Fire. Their chase took them into a crumbling industrial building—filled with smoke, chaos, and gunfire.
Then it happened.
A sudden cutaway. Ruzek yelling her name. And Burgess lying unconscious under a collapsed beam. The ambulance photo was real.
But the surprise wasn’t that she got hurt—it was that she survived. In the final act, fans watched her wake up in Chicago Med, dazed but alive. The twist? She had suffered a mild concussion but insisted on going back to the field.
What followed was a quiet but powerful moment between Burgess and Voight. He asked her why she always pushes herself past the limit.
“Because no one ever stopped for me,” she said.
That single line broke fans. Social media exploded in appreciation for Marina Squerciati’s performance. “She says more with her eyes than most actors do in a monologue,” one viewer tweeted.
So was the ambulance photo a leak? A teaser? A planned leak?
According to several insiders, it was all part of the strategy. “We knew that image would surface,” one producer admitted anonymously. “It was our way of warning fans that something big was coming—but not what they expected.”
Whether calculated or accidental, it worked. Burgess’s injury became the emotional spine of the entire crossover, and her resilience reminded viewers why she’s one of the franchise’s most beloved characters.
For now, Burgess lives to fight another day. But fans won’t forget that photo—and the wave of panic it caused—anytime soon.
