Police officer killed in shooting in Chicago suburb; suspect in custody

CBS News Chicago

OAK PARK, Ill. (CBS) — An Oak Park police officer was shot and killed Friday morning while responding to a report of a man with a gun leaving a bank. The suspect also was shot by police, and has been taken into custody.

Detective Allan Reddins, 40, had been with the Oak Park Police Department since May 2019. He was the first Oak Park officer killed in the line of duty since 1938.    

A village spokesperson said Reddins was responding to a call of an armed suspect seen leaving a bank in the 1000 block of Lake Street. Shortly after 9:30 a.m., the Oak Park Fire Department responded to a shots fired call in the 800 block of Lake Street, and arrived to find Reddins had been shot in the left side.

Reddins was taken to Loyola University Medical Center in critical condition, where he was pronounced dead at 10:10 a.m.

The suspect was shot in the leg and was taken into custody. He is also being treated at Loyola. 

The shooting happened just outside the Oak Park Public Library, which was cordoned off afterward.

A witness said she was at the UPS store nearby when she heard someone storm out of a store and then heard what sounded like gunshots.

"I knew it was gunshots. I didn't want to believe that," she said. 

Nicholas Gradishar said us he was walking to a friend's house nearby when he heard gunshots.

"I get down after I hear the shots, and then I come to the library to see it littered with cops," he said.

Gradishar said he saw police take the suspect into custody after he'd been shot.

"They were checking his pockets. They found a little handgun, but off to the side there was an ARP with a flashlight. So I don't know which one he used to shoot at the cops, but he had multiple guns on him," he said.

Gradishar recorded footage of the suspect on the ground with a gun nearby. Moments later, parademics took him away on a stretcher.

"Nothing happens up here. You may find a fight or so, but nothing like this will ever happen here. So it's wild," he said.

A police procession took Reddins' body from the hospital to the Cook County Medical Examiner's office Friday afternoon. Dozens of police officers and firefighters from Chicago, Oak Park, and other suburbs stood at attention and saluted as the ambulance arrived and Reddins' body was escorted inside.  

Investigation into the incident was ongoing Friday afternoon. Oak Park officials planned to hold a 4:30 p.m. news conference on Friday to discuss the shooting.

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