CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — A man was shot by Chicago police after he snuck into a Chicago Police Department (CPD) facility in Homan Square on Monday.
He was hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries, authorities said.
The shooting happened during a SWAT training exercise inside the facility, located at Homan Avenue and Fillmore Street.
Police said the man climbed to the fifth floor of the facility via a fire escape and entered through a door, which had been propped open.
CPD Supt. David Brown said he then grabbed two firearms that had been among several guns on a table, and pointed them at officers. Brown said that’s when the man was fired upon.
It’s unclear how many officers opened fire or how many rounds. Brown said he doesn’t want to speculate.
“Yeah, I try not to ballpark that, because it could be a few to, maybe, more than a few," he said. "We just don't know at this point. That investigation is still ongoing.”
It was also unclear whether the man had pulled the trigger on the guns, which may or may not have been loaded with live rounds. That’s because the guns, before the man grabbed them, had been in the process of transitioning from live rounds to simulation rounds for the training exercise.
There are no windows or ventilation there, Brown said. He added that the door had been propped open to get some air flow during the training simulation.
The man, a Waukegan resident, was able to get as far as he did in the building because officers were unsure if he was part of the live response simulation exercise, during which actors in plain clothes often participate, Brown said.
One officer did sprain his ankle while responding to the situation.
The Civilian Office of Police Accountability is investigating.
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