CHICAGO _ An off-duty Chicago police officer who was critically shot early Wednesday morning has shown some response, giving a thumbs-up while undergoing treatment at the University of Chicago Medical Center, Superintendent Eddie Johnson said at an emotional news conference.
The shooting took place just after 1:30 a.m. on East 37th Street, a few blocks from Chicago police headquarters, where Johnson talked to reporters hours later.
Johnson said the 25-year-old officer, who is assigned to the Gresham District on the South Side, was parked on that block when he and his female passenger noticed a black four-door Toyota Corolla or Nissan Altima circling the block.
The officer pulled out into traffic to leave the area, but the suspicious vehicle pulled up behind him. Someone inside opened fire, blasting out the back window of the officer's SUV and striking him in the back of the head, Johnson said. The woman was not injured.
Either the officer or the woman had just called 911 before gunfire erupted, according to the superintendent.
Officials did not identify the wounded officer by name.
A somber Johnson told reporters that he knew and "worked alongside" the wounded officer's father, also a Gresham District officer until his retirement in October. Johnson noted that his own son, who is also assigned to the Gresham District, is friends with the wounded officer.
"This incident has a significant impact on me personally," Johnson said. "This tragic event reminds us that CPD officers are not immune to the gun violence that affects our city. Officers live in Chicago. We send our children to school here. We play in the parks near our homes, and we eat in the restaurants in our neighborhoods. Chicago police officers are part of the fabric of this city."
Johnson then offered a prayer to anyone who has suffered from gun violence, expressing frustration about how hard it is to stop gun offenders from carrying and using firearms. He also talked about the challenges of the criminal justice system providing strong deterrents and combating the "culture" of gun violence and its root causes such as mental illness.
"You want to know what keeps me up at night?" the superintendent said. "These are the things that keep me up at night."
The wounded officer is the second assigned to that district to be shot this year. Officer John P. Rivera was off duty when he was shot and killed in the River North neighborhood after a night out with friends. Three men have been charged in the shooting, which also left one of Rivera's friends wounded.
