CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — A suspected shoplifter shot and wounded a Chicago police officer and a security guard in Brighton Park before being killed in a shootout with police Thursday afternoon.
The incident unfolded around 4 p.m. at a Home Depot near 46th and Western when, Chicago Police Supt. David Brown said, a suspected shoplifter struggled with a security guard at the retail store.
The suspect shot the security guard, who was in “grave condition,” Brown said.
The guard, who was in his early 50s, was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago fire spokesman Larry Merritt said. In a statement, police said the guard was shot in his head.
When the suspect fled, Chicago police officers pursued and one officer was shot, Brown said. The officer was being treated at Mount Sinai, though Brown declined to release his name or any information about him.
Fellow officers tended to their colleague while others pursued the suspect and got into a shootout with him, he said. The suspect, who was hit by gunfire, was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital, Brown said.
The police officer suffered non-life-threatening injuries, but may have to undergo surgery, Brown said. He reportedly was hit in the shoulder.
“This is the fourth officer shot in two weeks,” Brown told reporters at Mount Sinai hospital, where the wounded officer was taken. “I get questions all the time about what is the department doing about violence, what are we doing about the shootings, what are we doing about the homicides?
“What we are doing is risking out lives every day to protect this city.”
He noted that law enforcement officers across the country are “under attack,” reflecting on the cop who was shot and killed responding to the recent mass shooting in Boulder, Colorado.
Related
“But here in Chicago … it’s the idea that cops are putting their lives on the line every day and it seems that these offenders are acting with impunity,” Brown said. “And yet with hyper-criticism, officers continue to run toward danger.”
On Saturday, an officer was shot in her hand during a SWAT standoff in the Austin neighborhood by a man who allegedly wanted to “lure” cops to the area. On March 15, an off-duty officer was ambushed by two gunman while stopped in traffic in the Calumet Heights neighborhood.
Related
And a day before that, an on-duty CPD sergeant was shot while standing in the parking lot of the Gresham District police station, at 7808 S. Halsted St. The bullet grazed his chin, and he was released from a hospital later that day.
“Amy and I are wishing a speedy recovery to the Chicago police officer shot while responding to an incident on the Southwest Side. While we’re relieved to hear he is in good condition, it is absolutely appalling that he was the fourth officer shot in two weeks,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said on Twitter.
The investigation is ongoing, Brown said.