Gun Mystery: Felon Shoots Three Chicago Cops With Weapon Once Owned By Deputy Sheriff
(CBS) -- How did a gun owned by a former Chicago police officer and onetime Lake County deputy sheriff end up in the hands of a convicted felon who then shot three officers?
That's the question law enforcement is trying to answer now, CBS 2's Suzanne Le Mignot reports.
At the center of the gun mystery is Lamar Harris. He used a semi-automatic handgun once owned by a Lake County deputy to injure three Chicago cops when they were pursuing him for possible narcotics activity last week. He was killed in the shootout.
The issue of the gun's chain of ownership is a high priority now. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms has expedited a trace on the weapon, Special Agent Thomas Ahern says.
"On this particular gun, the make, the model, the serial number were all visible," he says. "It will tell us who the first purchaser of this gun was."
The gun has already been traced to a Lake County deputy sheriff, who worked for the law enforcement agency from Jan. 11 to March 18 of this year. Before working for the Lake County Sheriff's Office, he was employed as an officer with the Chicago Police Department for two and a half years.
A Chicago police spokesperson says detectives are working to determine how the former officer's personal weapon landed in the hands of a convicted felon.
All three officers have been released from the hospital.
