A file photo shows a crime scene blocked off by the Chicago Police Department. (WTTW News)

Three men are facing numerous charges following a shooting outside a West Beverly neighborhood bar Saturday night that left an off-duty Chicago police officer paralyzed from the waist down.

Justen Krismantis, 22, was charged Tuesday with two counts of aggravated battery, one count of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and a misdemeanor count of resisting/obstructing a police officer stemming from the shooting. He and 22-year-old Bryant Hayes were also charged with an additional count of attempted murder.

A third man, 28-year-old Demitrius Harrell, was also charged with aggravated discharge of a firearm and aggravated unlawful use of weapon. All three men were ordered held without bail during a hearing Tuesday.

According to Cook County prosecutors, Hayes fired 19 shots at a crowd of people outside Sean’s Rhino Bar & Grill, 10330 S. Western Ave., striking a 31-year-old man reportedly identified as Chicago police officer Danny Golden in the back.

“That situation just speaks to the occurrence of gun violence in our country,” Police Superintendent David Brown said Tuesday regarding the incident. “Guns should not be used to settle arguments or disagreements. Chicago’s communities cannot and will not be held captive by senseless gun violence.”

Assistant State’s Attorney James Murphy said the three defendants had driven to the area of West 104th Street and South Artesian Avenue in two separate cars sometime around 2:30 a.m. and got into an altercation with another group of people inside the bar. Golden was at the bar, but not involved in this fight; Murphy said he and others were seen on video trying to break the fight up.

The altercation poured outside as the defendants were chased by the group down the street, at which point Krismantis was allegedly overheard saying he was “going to my car,” which witnesses interpreted to mean he was going to get a weapon, Murphy said.

Krismantis was then seen on video going to his vehicle, opening a passenger door and reaching inside. According to Murphy, Krismantis retrieved an automatic firearm, which he handed to Hayes, who then pointed it at a group of people walking away and opened fire.

One man was struck in the leg, while Golden was struck once in the back. Murphy said that bullet severed Golden’s spine and came to a stop near his heart, where it must remain due to the danger involved with extracting it.

Golden remains hospitalized and is currently paralyzed from the mid-torso down, Murphy said, a condition which may be permanent.

According to Murphy, while Harrell, Hayes and Krismantis had fought and were chased by others, the fight had concluded and they did not face any danger at the time of the shooting.

As the men were returning to their vehicles after the shooting, Harrell allegedly took the firearm and could be seen on video extending his arm toward the group by the bar and firing three additional shots, though no one else was struck.

The three defendants each had their IDs scanned at another bar just before the shooting, and were seen on video wearing the same clothing at both that bar and at the bar near where the shooting occurred, Murphy said.

All three were eventually identified and arrested. A subsequent search of their phones revealed the men had joked about the shooting afterwards in a group text chat, stating “Let’s get drunk this weekend and start a bar fight” and “This s–t was fun.”

In setting bond, Judge Charles Beach found that there had been a “disengagement” between when the fight ended and when the first shots were fired that gave Harrell, Hayes and Krismantis a chance to walk away without causing any further harm.

“They had the opportunity of flight at that point, they had the opportunity to remove themselves from this fight by entering into their cars and driving away,” he said. “That is not what happened.”

A fundraiser underway to help cover Golden’s medical bills has raised more than $200,000 as of Tuesday afternoon.

“This devastating, life-altering event has forever changed the course of his life,” Golden’s family wrote on the fundraising site. “All those who have known Dan are grieving after such a senseless, tragic event.”

Harrell, Hayes and Krismantis are all due back in court for a hearing July 22.

Contact Matt Masterson: @ByMattMasterson | [email protected] | (773) 509-5431