Law enforcement officers in Chicago shot and wounded a 33-year-old man who pointed a gun at them as they tried to arrest him Friday, authorities said.
The shooting occurred about 9:40 a.m. in the West Garfield Park neighborhood as members of a fugitive task force were trying to serve an arrest warrant for aggravated criminal sexual assault with a firearm, police Superintendent David O. Brown told reporters.
A group of law enforcement officers identified the man, but he wouldn’t get out of the vehicle he was in and pointed a gun at the officers, Brown said.
Three Chicago police officers and a U.S. marshal opened fire. It wasn't immediately clear if the man fired any shots.
The man was hospitalized in grave condition.
No officers were wounded, but the four who fired shots were taken to a hospital for evaluation, Brown said.
The shooting follows a drive-by shooting Wednesday of two federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents and a Chicago task force officer. Eugene McClaurin, 28, of Chicago, was charged Thursday in the shooting of one of the agents.
Authorities said he claimed to have mistaken the officers for rival gang members.
The agents and officer were treated at hospitals and later released.
“It’s a very dangerous time to be in law enforcement," Brown said Friday. "These officers face death day in and day out to protect the people of Chicago. There is no regard for law enforcement’s presence.”
