Off-Duty Chicago Police Officer Kyjuan Tate Charged With Shooting Three People At Bowling Alley In Blue Island
CHICAGO (CBS) -- An off-duty Chicago Police officer has been ordered held on $2 million bail, accused of shooting three people during a fight at a bowling alley in south suburban Blue Island earlier this week.
Prosecutors said 27-year-old Kyjuan Tate opened fire inside Burr Oak Bowl shortly before midnight Tuesday night, after getting into a brawl with another man who was trying to use the men's restroom while Tate's sister was using the facilities. Tate has been charged with one count of attempted murder and two counts of aggravated battery.
At Tate's bond hearing on Friday, Cook County prosecutors said a 42-year-old man was attending his fiancée's birthday party at Burr Oak Bowl on Tuesday night, when he tried to use the men's restroom around 11:45 p.m., but Tate blocked him from going in, because Tate's sister was inside. Prosecutors said, while Tate was visibly drunk, the other man had not had any alcohol that night.
After Tate prevented the man from going into the restroom, the man went out to the parking lot to start up his car to warm it up before he left, and then went back to the men's restroom a few minutes later, where Tate confronted him again, setting off a fight as Tate lifted his sweater to show off a Glock handgun holstered in the waistband of his sweatpants. Prosecutors said, as Tate and the man got into a heated argument, the man's 52-year-old cousin tried to intervene, and Tate swung around the older man, trying to hit the younger man in the face. Tate and the younger man then began pushing and shoving each other, and Tate handed his gun to his sister, who had since exited the restroom.
That's when the 42-year-old man punched Tate in the face four or five times, knocking him to the ground. The man then started walking away, and Tate got up and retrieved his gun from his sister, and pointed it at the man's head behind his right ear, according to prosecutors.
Tate pulled the trigger, and a bullet grazed the 42-year-old man's ear, before striking the man's cousin in the chest, exiting his back, and hitting the bowling alley manager's hand just above his wrist.
After he'd been shot, the 42-year-old man grabbed Tate's arm, and they struggled over the gun, which fell to the floor as dozens of people fled out of the lounge, prosecutors said. The manager called 911, and Tate was able to retrieve his gun and leave the bowling alley.
According to prosecutors, surveillance video showed Tate still holding the gun as he exited the bowling alley. As Blue Island police arrived at the scene, Tate was walking to his car, and opened the passenger side door, before witnesses pointed him out to officers, who immediately arrested him, and recovered his gun from his car.
The 52-year-old man who was shot in the chest was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in critical condition, and prosecutors said his condition has since been stabilized. The 42-year-old man who was grazed by the gunshot was treated at a local urgent care facility, and is still suffering from hearing loss in his left ear. The 33-year-old bowling alley manager was taken to Christ Medical Center to be treated for the gunshot wound to his wrist.
The Chicago Police Department has relieved Tate of his police powers. He is assigned to the 5th (Calumet) District, at 727 E. 111th St., and is still in his 18-month probationary period as a new officer.
CBS 2 has also learned, before working for CPD, Tate was employed as a court liaison at Cook County Adult Probation.
He is due back in court on Jan. 24.
