Two Chicago police officers exchanged gunfire with a suspect, leading to all three being shot and hospitalized Friday night, according to city officials.
The officers suffered non-life threatening injuries,
Officers stopped “some type of homemade” vehicle around 5 p.m. in the 2000 block of East 79th Street when the person fled, and officers gave chase, CPD Supt. Larry Snelling told reporters outside University of Chicago Medical Center.
The officers caught up to the man and during an ensuing struggle, the man pulled a gun from a bag and shot one officer in his vest, Snelling said. The officer who was shot fired several shots hitting the man, Snelling added.
The other officer was also hit at the time, though Snelling said it is still under investigation whether it was friendly fire.
One officer had a successful surgery after being shot, according to Mayor Brandon Johnson. The other officer was injured but didn’t have surgery, officials said.
The suspect was in critical condition, Snelling said.
“Thank God for his vest,” Snelling said. “You never know when a stop will turn deadly.”
“These officers are sons, brothers and public servants,” Johnson said. ““[They] made sure a potential danger did not meet community. … As Chicagoans we have to look out for one another as we go into this holiday season.”
Dozens of officers and more than a dozen police vehicles lined East 79th Street just east of South Jeffery Boulevard by 6 p.m. Friday after reports of a possible officer-involved shooting.
Investigators with Chicago’s Civilian Office of Police Accountability were responding Friday evening to an officer-involved shooting near 2000 E. 79th St., the agency said. COPA announced the response just after 5:30 p.m.
