Chicago Police officer wounded, suspect killed in shootout
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A Chicago Police officer was wounded, and a suspected shooter was killed, in a shootout Monday in the South Shore neighborhood.
In a news conference Monday afternoon, police Supt. Larry Snelling said at 11:55 a.m., officers performed an investigatory stop of a man walking in the 7300 block of South Dante Avenue.
It was not immediately clear why the man was selected for an investigatory stop.
The man fled on foot, and officer pursued him very briefly – at which point they were fired upon, Snelling said. One officer was struck in the arm, and was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center with a non-life-threatening wound.
The officer was released Monday night, police said.
Officers returned fire, and the man who shot the officer was struck, Snelling said. He too was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he later died.
Police have not released any information about the man.
Snelling said three of the four uniformed officers on the scene – including the officer who was shot – fired their weapons.
The other officers involved in the incident were also taken to the hospital.
"Clearly, they're shaken, because this is a very troubling situation anytime this happens," Snelling said.
A gun was recovered at the scene, Snelling said.
Snelling said the fact that officers are being targeted is a symptom of a crisis of violence in the city.
"There is a lack of respect for law enforcement at this time. We see it every single day," Snelling said. "But there's a lack of respect right now for life in general – and we need to start taking a closer look at the violent actors that we have our here robbing individuals; who are shooting young children – we have children being shot in the city right now – and it's high time that we stood up, and stood up against these violent offenders – especially these repeat offenders."
The Civilian Office of Police Accountability was investigating, as is standard procedure with any police-involved shooting. Area 1 detectives are also investigating.
One thing COPA will look at is a CPD POD camera, which sits at the intersection of 74th Street and Dante Avenue and will provide key evidence in the investigation.
On Monday night, Chicago Police detectives went door-to-door in the area in the dark, looking for any evidence.
The officers involved have been placed on administrative leave, as per standard procedure when an officer fires their weapon.
