CHICAGO — Multiple officers were injured Thursday morning after gunfire erupted as they attempted to arrest a “violent carjacking offender” at a district police station in Chicago’s Belmont Cragin neighborhood, authorities said.
The incident happened around 9:40 a.m. at the 25th District station, NBC Chicago reported.
The officers were attempting to take the suspect into custody when “during the arrest process the offender was able to fire multiple shots at arresting officers,” Chicago Police Supt. David Brown said.
At least three officers and the suspect were wounded, police said.
The first officer was shot in the chin and chest and taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center for treatment, where doctors were working to stabilize his condition, according to police and hospital officials. A second officer was taken to Loyola University Medical Center with a gunshot wound to the hip.
A third officer was shot in the vest, but the bullet did not penetrate, Chicago Police Supt. David Brown said. That officer was also taken to Loyola University Medical Center for treatment.
Two other officers suffered chest pains following the shooting and were taken to Loyola University Medical Center for treatment as well, NBC reported.
“When [officers] leave home, they leave their loved ones and put these stars on and risk everything,” Brown said. “They risk everything protecting all of us.”
The suspect was wounded in the shooting and taken to John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County, Brown said.
The Chicago Sun-Times reported the shooting a bit differently. They said a prisoner being transported in a police wagon to the 25th District police station at Grand and Central opened fire Thursday morning when the doors were opened, wounding at least three officers, one seriously, sources said.
Sources said the prisoner, in turn, was shot multiple times outside the police station, 5555 W. Grand.
Within an hour of the shooting, about two dozen CPD squad cars were parked along Grand Avenue, which was closed to other traffic.
Other officers congregated in front of the apparent shooting scene, a taped-off location behind the police station.
It was not immediately clear how the suspect managed to get his hands on a gun after he’d already been arrested by police, CBS Chicago reported.
Brown said the incident happened after officers had spotted a car wanted in a downtown carjacking that happened on June 26, and arrested the suspect.
“Officers got behind this car, identified it as that carjacking vehicle, stopped the car, put the suspect in custody, and then the rest transpired afterwards,” Brown said.
In video provided by police sources, dozens of shots can be heard outside the station.
Residents were gathered in a nearby park, unsure what had happened, CST reported.
“I heard the gunshots go off and I thought to myself it’s way to early for for the gangs to be shooting at each other,” said one man, who did not want to provide his name.
“Then I could hear the police sirens racing down the street, then the ambulance.”
He soon went outside to see what was happening.
“This is not the safest neighborhood in the city, but a police officer getting shot in the morning like this is not normal,” he said.
