A Chicago police SWAT team arrested a man suspected of shooting a police officer Saturday afternoon in Austin on the West Side — the third department member wounded in a week.
Officers saw cars speed away as they responded to a ShotSpotter alert earlier in the morning near Lake Street and Cicero Avenue, Chicago Police Supt. David Brown said. While investigating the initial report of gunfire, a gunman fired shots at the officers, striking an officer in the left hand.
She was taken in a squad car to Mount Sinai Hospital, police said. Her wound was not considered life-threatening.
As more units arrived to search for the shooter and officers began to tape off the area, the gunman fired again — this time from an elevated first-floor window of a building in the 200 block of North La Crosse Avenue, police said.
Officers returned fire but did not hit the suspected gunman, who then holed up inside a three-flat apartment building, Brown said. Officers were able to evacuate some people from the building, whom Brown called “innocent bystanders” that were just at home.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22385396/Image_from_iOS__4_.jpg)
A SWAT team was called to respond and the suspected gunman was taken into custody by 2:20 p.m. — about four hours after the initial ShotSpotter alert, according to CPD spokesman Tom Ahern.
The suspect surrendered himself without incident, Brown said. A gun was recovered at the scene, police said.
Another officer was hospitalized for chest pains, Brown said.
Before the suspected shooter’s arrest, dozens of squad cars and seven firetrucks blocked off about a half-mile stretch of Cicero Avenue as officers could be seen escorting two people away from the scene in handcuffs.
Brown later said they were “likely witnesses” who were being questioned, but police were still working to determine their involvement in Saturday’s incident.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22385299/Image_from_iOS.jpg)
Meanwhile, neighbors congregated near the yellow police tape and tried to get a glimpse at what the commotion was about. One person who lives nearby said they heard one gunshot Saturday morning while walking near West End and Cicero avenues.
“This block right here is a very, very beautiful block. But that side of the street? I wouldn’t live on that side of the block,” the long-time resident said, gesturing just west of their home to the 4800 block of West End Avenue. “What’s happening over there is the reason a lot of people have moved out of here.
“It’s terrible,” they added. “Wait until the summer gets here, you’re going to hear nothing but gunshots.”
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22385508/COPSHOT_032121_18.jpg)
The officer who was shot is the third from the police department to suffer a gunshot wound in a week and the 16th officer to be shot at or shot this year. Brown said she was in “good spirits” but still experiencing a lot of pain. The officer was released from the hospital Saturday afternoon, Ahern said.
On Monday, an off-duty officer was ambushed by two gunmen at a red light in Calumet Heights on the South Side. And last Sunday, an on-duty Chicago police sergeant was shot while standing in the parking lot of the Gresham District police station, 7808 S. Halsted St.
In 2020, almost 80 officers were shot at or shot — a 500% increase from the previous year, Brown said.
“Again, this is outpacing last year’s year-to-date of officers shot and shot at,” Brown said. “This highlights the dangers but it also highlights the bravery, dedication and commitment officers have in really running toward danger to protect the people of Chicago.”
Mayor Lori Lightfoot echoed Brown’s sentiment in a tweet, writing: “[The officer’s] injury is a reminder of the risk our first responders take to keep our communities safe.”
