CHICAGO — Numerous police officers and community members gathered Thursday to celebrate as Officer Carlos Yanez was released from the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab.
Yanez was shot in the head and seriously wounded the night of Aug. 7 while conducting a traffic stop of three people in a vehicle in West Englewood. His partner, Ella French, was shot and killed.
After months of recovery, Yanez was greeted Thursday at the entrance of the rehabilitation center with a long round of applause and mariachi music as he sat in his wheelchair and was swarmed by the crowd.
“He’s a real hero,” one person can be heard saying in a video of the event posted to the Fraternal Order of Police’s Facebook page.
Yanez’s family set up a GoFundMe fundraiser to help pay for his recovery, which exceeded its goal of raising $350,000. According to the fundraiser, Yanez suffered gunshot wounds to the eye, brain and shoulder.
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