Police Questioning Person Of Interest After CPD Officer And 2 ATF Agents Shot In Morgan Park; Sources Say They Were Targeted And Ambushed
CBS 2's Meredith Barack, Charlie De Mar, Suzanne Le Mignot, Mugo Odigwe, and Marie Saavedra contributed to this report
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Detectives were questioning a "person of interest" Wednesday night, after a Chicago Police officer and two ATF agents were shot earlier in the Morgan Park neighborhood. Sources said they were targeted and ambushed.
According to Chicago Police Supt. David Brown, the officers were in an unmarked vehicle on a ramp to northbound I-57, at 119th Street, when shots were fired from the street just before 6 a.m. Brown said the officers were conducting an investigation "in an undercover capacity" at the time of the shooting. The undercover officer was working with the ATF agents as part of a task force, sources said.
Several high-placed police sources said the person or people who shot at the undercover Chicago police officer and agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were waiting for them at 119th Street and the I-57 on ramp, where they were ambushed.
The driver of a white Chevy Malibu passed the officer and the agents several times. The undercover officer and ATF agents were then getting onto the ramp to the expressway, when someone in the Malibu opened fire on them from the street above, the sources said.
The officer and both agents were treated at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn and have been released, officials confirm. One ATF agent was shot in the hand. The other agent was shot in the arm. The Chicago police officer suffered a graze wound to the back of the head. Officials confirmed all injuries are non-life-threatening.
One ATF officer is a man, the other a woman. The CPD officer is a man, and sources said he is part of an ATF task force.
All three are long time members of the ATF or CPD.
Police confirmed Wednesday afternoon that detectives were questioning a person of interest in connection with the shooting.
The car involved in the shooting was recovered at 89th Place and Indiana Avenue, about five miles away from the scene of the shooting. Evidence markers were put near the windshield on the hood of the white Malibu.
A police source said the car was recovered through a GPS tracker that had been placed on the vehicle by law enforcement, some time before the shooting. The Malibu was towed away just before 1 p.m. Wednesday.
The car was parked in front of a home on the 200 block of East 89th Place in the West Chesterfield neighborhood. A woman who appeared to have a connection to the home had constant watch over her by police. Officers stayed by her side all morning. At one point, an ambulance was called for her. She was later placed into a squad car, which was driven away by an officer.
That woman returned home later Wednesday afternoon, and confirmed her son is the person being questioned by police. She said she was questioned along with her son after he ran into her house.
Chicago Police officers entered the home around 5:45 p.m.
Agents removed bags of evidence from the home late Wednesday, but the investigation was far from over in the late-night hours.
CBS 2's Suzanne Le Mignot said the police presence at the house has been massive - one of the largest she has seen in her 27 years of reporting in Chicago. ATF agents, CPD officers, and U.S. Marshals were all spotted, with officers representing every rank and clad in uniform, plainclothes, and tactical gear.
Meanwhile, Supt. Brown praised Chicago police officers for confronting difficult situations as an everyday part of their job.
"They are rising to the challenge of doing all they can, and really the work that they do is extremely dangerous, and again I would just highlight, God bless Chicago police officers. They do this job in the bravest, most courageous ways, with commitment and dedication on display every single day for the people of Chicago," Brown said.
After the shooting, there was a large police presence outside the Morgan Park (22nd) District Police Station and on I-57 at 119th Street. Police would not confirm which vehicle the officer and agents were in, but a vehicle with bullet holes in it was taped off in front of the 22nd District station.
Brown said the nature of the work the officer and agents were doing means there's not much more he can say about the investigation.
"We are limited in what we can say. There's an ongoing investigation. Officers and detectives are on the scene, following up on several leads, but we cannot go into further detail, otherwise we would compromise the investigation at this point," Brown said.
The superintendent said no suspects are in custody. It's not clear if one or more suspects were involved in the shooting.
Brown said this incident marks the 36th officer shot at or shot this year.
Meanwhile, during President Joe Biden's trip to the Chicago area on Wednesday, Mayor Lori Lightfoot briefed the president on the federal agents' conditions:
"During today's meeting, Mayor Lightfoot gave President Biden an update on the ATF agents' medical conditions and thanked him for his additional supports in the city's fight against gun violence. She lauded the President for listening to the needs of cities and for the federal government's recent announcements on public safety reform."
Anyone with information is asked to contact police or submit a tip anonymously at CPDTIP.com.
