May 06--A robbery suspect was shot by a Chicago police officer Friday as a fugitive unit was attempting to arrest him on the Far South Side, officials said.
The man was shot in the lower abdomen after he took off running and pointed a gun at officers giving chase, police said. He was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where his condition stabilized, police said.
A loaded Bersa .380-caliber semi-automatic handgun was recovered at the scene, according to authorities.
This marks the sixth shooting so far this year involving a Chicago police officer. Three have resulted in fatalities.
As of Friday, four Chicago police officers have been shot this year, none fatally.
The officer who shot the man will be placed on desk duty for 30 days -- a routine move taken by the Police Department since late last year.
A fugitive unit composed of Chicago officers and U.S. deputy marshals was attempting to arrest the robbery suspect about 9:30 a.m. Friday when the man ran away, according to Chief of Detectives Eugene Roy.
"The offender stopped (and) pointed his weapon at the police officer," Roy told reporters at the scene. "The officer fired a number of shots. The offender disposed of the weapon, attempted to continue his flight but collapsed."
No officers were injured, Roy said.
The shooting took place in the 11800 block of South Sangamon Street in the West Pullman neighborhood.
Police cordoned off 119th Street for about a block -- between Morgan and Peoria streets -- with yellow tape wrapped around light poles. A few dozen police vehicles, most of them unmarked, responded to the scene.
Several plainclothes law enforcement officers in bulletproof vests stood around outside a home on Sangamon. About a half a dozen onlookers gathered along a wrought-iron gate at a strip mall just east of 119th and Peoria.
Around 11:15 a.m., two officials with the Independent Police Review Authority arrived at the scene. The agency investigates all shootings involving Chicago police officers.
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