A suspect was arrested Monday after he allegedly shot a Chicago police officer and another person during a hostage situation in Albany Park on the Northwest Side.
Police responded around 11 a.m. to a call of a female shot in the 4600 block of North Springfield Avenue, interim Chicago police Supt. Fred Waller told reporters Monday afternoon. An internal police report indicated she had been shot in the face.
Officers found the male suspect had barricaded himself inside a home with a teenage girl and an older female who may have been his girlfriend, Waller said. The police alert described the girl as a 13-year-old.
When SWAT officers tried to enter the home, the suspect fired through a door and struck one of the officers in the lower abdomen, according to Waller.
Both gunshot victims were rushed to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where Waller said the female was listed in critical condition and the officer quickly underwent surgery. Speaking outside the hospital, Waller said the officer’s condition had been stabilized and he was being visited by his family.
The wounded officer has worked for the Chicago Police Department about 20 years and had been a member of the SWAT unit for more than a decade, Waller said.
Waller said the two females being held by the suspect had been “battered.” He said they were taken to Stroger Hospital with injuries that weren’t thought to be life-threatening.
The suspect was taken into custody and was being processed, Waller said. Investigators were determining whether he had a history of domestic violence.
Speaking alongside Waller, Mayor Brandon Johnson said the city was “incredibly grateful for the swift and active work of our police department.”
“It is unfortunate that domestic violence exists the way that it does in this city,” Johnson added. “We are grateful that [officers] were able to de-escalate the situation to prevent further harm.”
‘We got a SWAT officer shot’
Officers initially responded around 10:55 a.m. to a 911 call of a female shot in the face, according to police radio traffic. About 10 minutes later, a SWAT response was authorized to respond to a suspect barricaded inside the home.
During the standoff, a female called 911 from inside the home and could be heard pleading with the suspect.
“Please don’t shoot through the door,” the caller said.
“She is trying to convince him to put the gun down. Use caution, guys,” a dispatcher told responding officers.
Around 11:45 a.m., an “officer in distress” call pierced through the airwaves.
“We got a SWAT officer shot guys, in the rear, we got a SWAT officer shot,” the dispatcher said.
Shortly after the officer was shot, the woman was begging the man to turn off the gas, according to police radio traffic.
“She’s crying and telling him to turn off the gas. He’s turned on the gas,” a dispatcher said. “The female keeps begging for him to turn the gas off, she’s begging for him to put the gun down and lay down so nobody else will get hurt.”
Several minutes later, the woman thanked the man after he presumably turned the gas off, according to radio traffic.
“She was thanking him for turning the gas off, I’m assuming he’s cut off the gas now,” the dispatcher said.
Neighbors feel unsafe
Some neighbors drawn to the scene expressed concerns about crime in the Northwest Side neighborhood.
Alvin Woodley said he’s lived in Albany Park for seven years and doesn’t always feel safe, especially at night.
Woodley, 56, recalled a boy being shot in the chest at a nearby park last year while children were playing basketball. He said neighbors may be hesitant to call police and report what they see.
“I think a lot of people just don’t want to get involved,” Woodley said. “The police station is right down the street, so there shouldn’t be that much crime.”
Another neighbor was more blunt: “I don’t feel safe anywhere.”
The 58-year-old man, who declined to give his name, said he has lived in the area for several years and believes crime in the neighborhood has gotten worse. That’s why he obtained a license to carry a gun in public.
“You have to take care of yourself,” he said. “You can’t depend on the police. It’s not only here, it’s everywhere.”
