The gun used in the fatal shooting of Chicago police Officer John Bartholomew inside a North Side hospital Saturday was purchased nearly two years ago in Indiana, federal prosecutors say, in a transaction now at the center of a separate criminal case.
Prosecutors say 26-year-old Alphanso Talley opened fire inside Swedish Hospital while in police custody, killing Bartholomew, a 38-year-old officer, and critically wounding a second officer. Investigators allege Talley pulled a handgun from under a blanket during a medical evaluation before firing. It remains unclear how the weapon was brought into the hospital.
According to a criminal complaint filed Monday in federal court in Hammond, Indiana, the gun that was used in the case traces back to Olivia Burgos, who bought the 10 millimeter Glock pistol in May 2024 from a gun store in Merrillville.
Prosecutors allege she falsely claimed on required paperwork that she was the actual buyer and not using illegal drugs. But investigators say she later admitted to fentanyl addiction and told agents she had used the drug the day she bought the gun.
She also said she purchased the weapon for her boyfriend, who gave her money for the gun and who she believed was a convicted felon prohibited from possessing firearms, according to the complaint. Authorities have not publicly identified the boyfriend or explained how the gun ultimately ended up in Talley’s possession.
Burgos is charged with making a material false statement in the acquisition of a firearm. The charge does not accuse her of involvement in the shooting itself.
