CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- A 23-year-old Elgin man has been charged with shooting a Chicago police officer in the face Monday afternoon in the Goose Island neighborhood. The officer is going to be okay.
Hours after being shot in the face, the officer was released from the hospital and stopped by the 18th police district station still dressed in his hospital gown before heading home.
The shooting happened around 3:30 p.m. Monday afternoon after an altercation broke out inside an Ulta Beauty store in the 1000 block of West North Avenue, Chicago Police Supt. David Brown said.
Someone inside the store had been acting “erratically” and officers patrolling the area nearby were called, Brown said. There was a struggle between the suspect and an officer that continued into the parking lot, where the suspect fired three shots, striking the officer once in the cheek, Brown said.
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The superintendent described the injury as a “through-and-through wound.” The officer was transported to Illinois Masonic Medical Center.
"We’re just grateful the officer is in non-life-threatening condition at this point and we’re asking the public to continue their prayers for our officer and all the officers for the City of Chicago," Brown said.
The gunman, Jovan McPherson, 23, of Elgin, was taken into custody, Brown said, and a weapon was also recovered at the scene. The shooter was inside the store with another person, but that person is not in custody.
No officers returned fire, according to Brown.
McPherson faces charges of attempted first-degree murder, aggravated battery of an officer, unauthorized use of a weapon, kidnapping with a firearm, aggravated unlawful restraint and resisting arrest.
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Brown said officers have been conducting extra patrols in the area in response to some recent robberies and were able to respond very quickly.
At the site, Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd) said this was a stark reminder of the dangers officers face every day on the job.
“Of course the good news is the officer’s injuries are not life-threatening, but let’s pause and reflect on the fact that it is life-altering,” Hopkins said. “Getting shot in the face is no small matter, even if you are going to live from those injuries and even if you are going to fully recover from those injuries."
A woman who lives across the street said she was just about to walk to the store when the shooting occurred.
“We don’t feel safe around here,” she said. “I mean if they’re going to shoot a police officer they are going to shoot anybody, and I think that’s what kind of gives me the chills and it’s scary no matter who you are.”
She has lived in the area 15 years, but said she has never felt scared in the neighborhood until this past year.
“The last year…I’ve been worried to walk to my car…I’ve been worried to take my purse anywhere, I’ve been much more uneasy," she said.
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(WBBM Newsradio and Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this copy.)