Bail was denied Friday for the man accused of fatally shooting a Chicago police officer this week as prosecutors disclosed new details of the deadly confrontation near a playground at a grade school in Gage Park.
Steven Montano, 18, was being chased at 52nd and Spaulding, across the street from Sawyer Elementary School, when he suddenly turned around and pointed a gun at Officer Andres Vasquez-Lasso Wednesday afternoon, prosecutors said.
The two exchanged gunfire, with Montano firing five times and hitting the officer in the head, arm and leg, prosecutors said. The officer fired twice and hit Montano in the face.
Who fired first was not made clear during the hearing, though Police Supt. David Brown indicated to reporters that Montano shot the officer and Vasquez-Lasso returned fire.
Judge Mary Marubio called that fact “irrelevant” and ordered Montano held without bail. “This case … starts with violence and ends with violence,” the judge said.
Police had been called to the block around 4:30 p.m. after Montano got into an argument at his girlfriend’s apartment about a mile from where the shooting would take place, prosecutors said.
Montano allegedly threatened to get a gun and his girlfriend called 911 to report the domestic dispute and that he was armed, prosecutors said.
The first officers to arrive saw Montano climb through a window at the apartment building and run through a gangway to an alley, where he saw neighbors and asked if he could hide his gun in their garage, prosecutors said.
When they declined, he ran through the garage into a backyard, hopped a fence and began running north on Spaulding Avenue, where Vasquez-Lasso and his partner were responding to a request for backup, prosecutors said.
Spotting Montano, Vasquez-Lasso followed the gunman to a school yard at the elementary school and repeatedly ordered Montano to stop, prosecutors said.
When Montano ran into a fenced playground area, he turned suddenly, racked the slide on his handgun and opened fire — all captured on Vasquez-Lasso’s body-worn camera, prosecutors said.
The officer fell to the ground and Montano stumbled away. He fell to the ground nearby and dropped his gun. When Vasquez-Lasso’s partner arrived, Montano again tried to flee and was shocked with a Taser and handcuffed, prosecutors said.
A group of children had been playing near the school, and witnesses said they ran behind slides and whatever else they could find for cover.
Vasquez-Lasso was placed in a squad car and rushed away as fellow officers tried to save his life. He was eventually transferred to a Chicago Fire Department ambulance and taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he died.
An assistant public defender for Montano said she had not had the opportunity to speak with her client and could provide no information about him for the hearing. His next court date was set for March 22 for a status hearing.
On Thursday night, family and friends of the slain officer gathered for a somber prayer vigil a day after he was killed in the line of duty.
“He was always a proper man, and today we come together to honor him,” said one of the mourners, who identified himself as John, a close friend of the officer. “I hope God gives him rest, that God takes care of his soul and that he is in a better place.”
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Vasquez-Lasso’s wife Milena attended the vigil at Hale Park along with hundreds of relatives and friends, many holding lighted candles as they gathered in a circle. Flowers were arranged around photographs of Vasquez-Lasso.
“Sometimes life isn’t what you think it is,” John said at the vigil. “But at this moment we need a lot of strength for his family, not just for now but in the long run. Because I know that it’s not easy for his mom, losing a son is never easy for a mom.
“I would have liked that this reunion be for something like a birthday or Christmas,” he continued. “But it’s God showing us that in this moment, we have to be more united. I thank God for letting me get to know Andres for many years. “
A witness told the Sun-Times she believes Vasquez-Lasso and the other officers who responded Wednesday kept the children near the school safe, including her 10-year-old sister who was playing at the school.
“I feel sorry for the loss of the police officer’s family and his colleagues and friends,” the woman said, asking not to be named out of concern for her safety. “But I’m glad they were there to keep my sister safe and her friends.”
Vasquez-Lasso had been on the force for five years, and he and his wife had a young daughter. The family had just moved into a home in Marquette Park a little over a year ago, according to a neighbor, Sara Montemayor.
“I just saw them the day before out walking their dog. I know the grandma is over a lot to help out with the daughter” said Montemayor, 34. “It’s hard knowing that happened to a neighbor.”
Vasquez-Lasso was shot just 2 1/2 miles from his home. On Thursday morning, four police officers from the Chicago Lawn Police District arrived at the scene of the shooting with flowers for a memorial.
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“We’re out here to pay our respects to our brother in blue,” said one of the officers, who declined to give her name.
She said the four of them worked an earlier shift than Vasquez-Lasso and only knew him in passing, but knew he was bright and on the rise. “He was always smiling,” the officer said.
The mother and father of another Chicago Lawn Police District officer arrived to light a candle for Vasquez-Lasso. They said their son knew him.
The mother said they felt they had to come out because, “For me, they’re all my sons. They’re all important to me, and I carry them in my heart and in my prayers.”
The couple lives nearby, and when she heard the sirens and the helicopters and saw the news, she feared the worst.
“It was terrifying,” she said.
She said she called her son and was relieved when he picked up the phone, but was devastated to hear what had happened and to know what had happened to another mother.
“We have sons that every day put their life on the line. We know that they leave, but we don’t know if they’re going to come back,” she said.
An officer from the neighboring Deering Police District drove by as well. He wasn’t working and wanted to come by to pay his respects. The officer joined the force a short time before Chicago Police Officer Ella French was killed in 2021.
“Stuff like this, it’s scary,” he said. “Policing is real.”
A GoFundMe page has been started “to help cover funeral costs and to provide support for his loved ones in the days and weeks to come.”
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire & Chicago Sun-Times 2023. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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