Kiante Tyler, 21, Denied Bond In Shooting Of Bensenville Police Officer Steven Kotlewski; Officer Remains In ICU
WHEATON, Ill. (CBS) -- A suspect was facing multiple felony charges Sunday, after police said he shot and wounded a Bensenville police officer eight times earlier this weekend.
The suspect, Kiante Tyler, 21, was denied bond Sunday in DuPage County Court.
Meanwhile, we have learned more about the officer, Steven Kotlewski, who continued to recover late Sunday.
As CBS 2's Steven Graves reported, Kotlewski's family said he is a father of three and a 12-year veteran of the Bensenville Police Department.
Around 1 a.m. Saturday, Kotlewski was responding to a domestic disturbance at apartment complex on the 100 block of South York Road. Police said Tyler fired 10 shots at Kotlewski, and eight of the bullets struck the officer.
DuPage County prosecutors said the officer first spoke to people in the apartment while standing in the doorway. Tyler fired the shots soon afterward, prosecutors said.
The officer's gun was in his holster the whole time, prosecutors said.
Other officers nearby heard the noise and later found Kotlewski bleeding as he crawled down a stairway at the building. He had "extensive" injuries as medics rushed him to emergency surgery.
Back at the scene, Tyler later surrendered to police. Prosecutors on Sunday detailed how police found a 9mm pistol on the kitchen counter.
Police also found multiple shell casings.
Kotlewski was rushed to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, where his family said he remained in the Intensive Care Unit late Sunday. He was breathing on a ventilator.
His legs were shattered by the bullets, his family said.
Kotlewski has already undergone multiple surgeries to repair his pelvis and organs. He is expected to go back into surgery on Monday.
"This is a very difficult time," said Richard Blass, a spokesman for Kotlewski's family. "No one was expecting this to happened."
The officer's family told Blass that Kotlewski loved his job, and he even received a life-saving award two years ago.
Kotlewski's family on Sunday was hoping to raise money to help support his stay-at-home wife and their three children – one of whom has special needs.
"Yes, it is extraordinary to hear someone shot eight times, but he's a fighter. He's got three kids and a wife and a wonderful family to come back to. I'm sure that's his guiding light right now," Blass said. "Everyone is pulling for him."
The family is working to care for the kids so Kotlewski's wife can be with him.
"They're arranging for care for the kids, feeding of the kids, taking them to school so his wife can be at his bedside," Blass said.
Meanwhile, there was a different type of support and outcry coming from the suspect's family on Sunday. A woman identifying herself as Tyler's mom spoke on Facebook Live outside the apartment complex where the incident happened.
She said she called police to the apartment that morning because her son was not acting like himself.
Mom: "Someone gave my son something. They gave him some bad stuff."
Reporter: "You think it's drugs."
Mom: "Yeah, yes."
Tyler's mother added, "I noticed it within a couple of days he was looking different."
Tyler faces charges of attempted first-degree murder and multiple counts of aggravated battery.
