Aug. 29--One person died after being involved in a police-involved shooting and multiple crashes with parked cars on the Lower West Side early Saturday, police said.
About 1:30 a.m., 10th District Cmdr. Frank Valadez and a police officer assigned to the 10th District were on routine patrol when they saw someone fire shots from a vehicle into another occupied vehicle near the corner of 23rd and Wood streets in the Heart of Chicago neighborhood, according to a statement from the Chicago Police Department.
Valadez and the officer pursued the vehicle, and near the intersection of 19th Street and Ashland Avenue, the vehicle struck several parked cars, according to the statement.
As officers tried to intercept, the suspects deliberately reversed their vehicle to strike the commander and the officer, police said in the statement.
The officers fired their weapons, striking at least one person who continued to flee but was later taken into custody after striking additional vehicles, the statement said.
One of the vehicle's occupants, who suffered a gunshot wound, was dead at the scene. Police could not say if the man's death came as a result of police gunshots or from being involved in the crashes. The cause of death was pending autopsy results.
Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi told Associated Press that the driver of the fleeing vehicle was shot and killed.
Police found additional suspects, who are being questioned as part of the investigation. A handgun was recovered from the suspects' vehicle.
Valadez and the officer suffered injuries that weren't life-threatening.
No other information about the incident was immediately available.
Early Saturday, police officers blocked off about two blocks on 19th between South Wood and Ashland with yellow and red tape.
Inside the crime scene, several damaged cars sat parked along 19th.
Officers shined flashlights as they investigated, and as light rain started to come down around 3 a.m., some officers pulled out umbrellas for cover.
About half a dozen people gathered near the eastern edge of the crime scene.
Some people said their parked cars were smashed as a result of the incident.
Gonzalo Blanco said his 2003 black Cadillac got rammed in the back, causing it to crash into the car in front of it.
Blanco, who lives in Berwyn, said he came into the city for a friend's birthday party, which was held about a block away from where the incident happened.
When he left the party to go home, Blanco said he saw police tape and his smashed car. An officer let him inside the crime scene for a moment to check out the damages, he said.
"It sucks all around," Blanco said. "I should have just stayed home."
