Carjacking Suspects Lead Police On High Speed Chase; 1 Suspect Shot
CHICAGO (CBS) -- An Illinois State Police trooper was caught up in a shooting that sent a teenager to the hospital and also interrupted a busy Saturday night for several people in Chinatown and the South Loop. That incident ended in the South Loop with a mad dash by four men in a vehicle--at least one of them who was heavily bleeding.
CBS2's Lauren Victory reports that the Illinois State Police says it all began when a trooper spotted a vehicle that he recognized as being stolen at gunpoint in Chinatown earlier in the day.
While chasing the vehicle, it became stuck in traffic, however police say when they approached the vehicle to make arrests, the driver of the car allegedly tried to run the trooper over.
That's when the trooper fired shots. The driver sped off again, screeching to a halt in the South Loop.
Everyone in the vehicle made a run for it, including the injured person. And several witnesses watched it unfold, including Adam Smith.
"I saw that BMW exit the expressway at a very high place and a lot of state troopers followed them, Chicago police. And they attempted to block him in and they put the car in reverse and that's when one of the state troopers came out and they fired five shots at him is what I heard," Smith said.
Another witness, John Eatinger, says, "My wife had seen them exit a car on Michigan Ave., apparently at least one had a blood-stained shirt…"
"No where is safe in this city," said South Loop resident Michael Heard. "I'm not totally surprised that something like this is happening in the South Loop."
Later, protesters showed up in the South Loop, holding signs protesting police brutality.
Illinois State Police are leading the investigation. The teen shot eventually showed up at John H. Stroger Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
