Officer Shot While Chasing Suspect In Little Village

LITTLE VILLAGE — A nine-year veteran of the Chicago Police Department was shot while chasing a group of men in Little Village Monday afternoon, police said.

Around 4:15 p.m., the officer was in his squad car with a partner when they noticed three men looking suspicious near the 2300 block of South Trumbull Avenue, said Supt. Eddie Johnson at a news conference outside Stroger Hospital.

The officers approached the men who then tried to run away, Johnson said. One of the men fired and hit the officer in his right shoulder, he said.

The officer was taken to Stroger Hospital. Police did not release the officer's condition, but he was listed as "stable," said Officer Kevin Quaid said.

Police arrested the shooter and collected a gun from the scene, Johnson said. The shooter was hit with a stun gun by police, Johnson said. Charges are pending for the man, he said.

Officers are looking for the two other men who fled from police, Johnson said.

Johnson said the latest shooting of an officer underscores the everyday dangers police face.

"This is an example of officers being proactive, doing what they're asked to do," Johnson said. "We really have to do something with the weapons on the street."

Another officer was cut in his hand while working to apprehend the shooter, Quaid said. He either was treated on the scene or refused medical attention, he said.

Police closed off numerous blocks close to the scene of the shooting, and a mobile command center was parked in the mouth of an alley near 24th Street and Trumbull Avenue.

The commotion brought out scores of neighbors, most of whom did not know what happened. Some neighbors said they heard one loud gunshot, while others said they heard three shots ring out.

Tanaydi Zarco walked out of her mom's house on Homan Avenue to find her car windows smashed by a brick. At the same time, she saw police swarming toward the end of her block as officers began putting crime tape around the scene.

Zarco said her younger sister had just got home and told her of the car right after the officer was shot less than a block away.

"She got home seconds before whatever happened down there happened," Zarco said. "Thank God."

Zarco's car's windshield was cracked, and a back window was completely shattered. Police inspected her car and asked her what she knew about the shooting incident, Zarco said. She said she didn't know anything about the shooting.

Zarco said she also doesn't know what happened to her car, but said it's possible the people who shot at police also tried to break into her car.

"They might be," she said about the two incidents. "Police don't know. I'm pretty sure they're more interested in what happened down there, anyways."

CPD officer shot in shoulder during foot pursuit of armed suspect @ 2350 blk S TRUMBULL. Supt Johnson will give update at Stroger Hospital

— Anthony Guglielmi (@AJGuglielmi) April 25, 2016