CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- A Chicago Police officer was shot in the head on the city's Northwest Side by a bank robbery suspect who was killed moments later in a shootout at a music store, authorities said.
Also injured was a 15-year-old boy who was an innocent bystander, police said.
The police officer was wounded near Irving Park Road and the Kennedy Expressway following a pursuit that stemmed from a robbery at a Bank of America branch in Des Plaines.
Initially, officials said the Chicago police officer, 46, was grazed by a bullet. Later, doctors at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center said the officer's skull was fractured and he had blood on the brain. The officer, a 17-year veteran of CPD, reportedly was alert as he was rushed to the hospital by his partner in their squad car.
Police spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said the officer will remain in intensive care for up to 48 hours.
"The bullet did in fact penetrate his skull and exit his skull so there is some concern there. Monitoring his condition is paramount," he said.
Guglielmi said Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson anticipates visiting the teenage piano student, who was wounded during the gun battle.
"The FBI is investigating the bank robbery. Des Plaines Police are investigating the carjacking. Chicago Police are investigating the officer-involved shooting," Des Plaines Police Chief William Kushner said.
The Chicago shootout unfolded around 7 p.m., nearly three hours after two suspects robbed the Des Plaines bank branch, authorities said. One suspect was apprehended in the northwest suburb, while a second suspect stole a car from residents who alerted authorities, Des Plaines police said.
Des Plaines police and Illinois state police tracked the stolen vehicle to Chicago, where the suspect exited at Irving Park Road. He began shooting at Chicago police who were waiting to intercept him, and that is when the Chicago officer was struck, Police Supt. Eddie Johnson said.
Des Plaines police pursued the suspect into a music store in the 4200 block of Irving Park Road and fatally wounded the 32-year-old offender during an exchange of gunfire, Johnson said.
A 15-year-old boy who was in the music store for a piano lesson was hit by gunfire in the arm and abdomen and taken to Comers Children’s Hospital, Johnson said.