Chicago officer saves his life with tourniquet; manhunt leads to shooting, capture of suspect

CHICAGO – Chicago police have captured the man suspected of shooting and severely wounding a police officer on Saturday, as well as shooting a woman in the back in broad daylight on Wednesday, officials said.

CPD spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said that officers had apprehended a “person of interest” believed to be 45-year-old Michael Blackman following a daylong manhunt. Guglielmi said the individual was shot by police and no officers were injured, Fox 32 reported.

Doctors say the officer lost nearly a third of his blood following a groin injury. The officer was able to apply a tourniquet thanks to @CPDpolicefdtn for raising funds to equip these officers with life saving tools. pic.twitter.com/tgKi88FVQJ

— Anthony Guglielmi (@AJGuglielmi) September 21, 2019

The injured officer has not been identified. He was shot and wounded at around 8:40 a.m. while serving a warrant on the city’s South Side. The officer is 40 years old and a 16-year veteran of the Chicago Police Department assigned to the fugitive apprehension team, Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said during a news conference at Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn.

“He came basically bleeding to death. He had already lost a significant amount of blood.”

– Jane Kayle Lee, trauma surgeon

Doctors said the officer was shot once in the groin and twice in his lower left leg. According to Guglielmi, the officer lost nearly a third of his blood despite applying a tourniquet on himself. The officer underwent surgery and was listed in stable condition.

“He came basically bleeding to death,” said Jane Kayle Lee, the trauma surgeon who operated on the officer for about 2 hours. “He had already lost a significant amount of blood.”

Blackman is also accused of shooting a 29-year-old woman while he was riding a bicycle in the Fulton River District on Wednesday, police Superintendent Eddie Johnson told Fox 32 Chicago. The woman was shot in the back but is expected to survive, he said.

Michael Blackman, 45, was captured after a shooting with Chicago police. He is accused of shooting a police officer as well as a woman earlier in the week. *(Chicago Police Department)*

On Friday, police released surveillance video from a bicycle shop showing Blackman at the counter getting a flat tire fixed just minutes before Wednesday’s shooting.

New video from detectives with a better visual of gunman. If you recognize this man or see someone wearing similar clothing in your area, please call 911 or report anonymously on your phone at https://t.co/g9Q1SrKRdK. pic.twitter.com/8mA8Zph52O

— Anthony Guglielmi (@AJGuglielmi) September 18, 2019

Fox 32 Chicago reported that the fugitive apprehension team was trying to arrest Blackman when the shooting took place at around 8:40 a.m. After officers knocked on the door, Blackman ran out the back of the home and shot the officer.

DOWN SYNDROME MAN DIED IN HOT VAN AS CARETAKER SLEPT OFF DRUG INGESTION, SHERIFF SAYS

Blackman is in critical condition and undergoing surgery, Guglielmi later added.

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