(WTTW News)
Three Chicago Police officers were shot, including one who was struck in the neck, outside a Northwest side police station Thursday by an offender who had been arrested as a suspect in a June carjacking.
Five officers in total were being treated at area hospitals Thursday morning, according to Chicago police Superintendent David Brown.
Samuel Kingsley, a trauma surgeon from Illinois Masonic Medical Center, said the most seriously injured officer sustained a gunshot wound to the left side of his neck, which required the insertion of a breathing tube to allow him to breathe.
“We are working to stabilize him at this point,” he told reporters during a press conference outside the hospital.
The shooting occurred at approximately 9:40 a.m. Thursday at the Chicago Police Department’s 25th District Station at 5555 W. Grand Ave., after police arrested a man in connection with a “violent” June 26 carjacking, Brown said.
Officers were able to identify that stolen vehicle Thursday, and after a traffic stop, the suspect was placed in custody. Brown did not get into the specifics of what happened from there, but said the shooting occurred during the process of an arrest, and that the suspect was able to fire multiple shots at arresting officers.
The offender was also shot and taken to Stroger Hospital, Brown said.
One officer sustained a gunshot wound to his hip, and another was shot in his protective vest. Two other officers were being treated for chest pain, Brown said. Asked if he believed all the officers involved would be OK, Brown said: “We pray and hope so.”
“I want to strongly emphasize the inherent dangers that these and all Chicago police officers experience every, every day protecting the residents of Chicago,” Brown said. “When they leave home, they leave their loved ones and put these stars on and risk everything – they risk everything – protecting all of us.”
The Civilian Office of Police Accountability is investigating the incident.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot issued a tweet Thursday morning asking “everyone in our city to join me in praying” for the officers who were shot.
“Today is a searing reminder of the danger our men and women of our Police Department face every day they put on their uniforms and leave their homes,” she said in a subsequent tweet. “This is the sacrifice they make in order to serve and protect our city and fellow residents.”
Contact Matt Masterson: @ByMattMasterson | [email protected] | (773) 509-5431
