Bolingbrook police officer shot in convenience store stand-off
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A Bolingbrook police officer is recovering in the hospital after being shot twice by a gunman during a standoff.
Police said it happened after that gunman fired shots into a crowded convenience store.
CBS 2 Investigator Megan Hickey has been piecing together what happened and the possible warning signs ahead of the violence.
Witnesses said the 24-year-old man, who police said fired the shots, visited this convenience store several times Sunday.
One witness said she knew something was off and was worried he would return with a weapon; unfortunately, police said he did.
"Wow. This is not Chicago. I've never experienced anything like this."
Brenda Scott-Hubbard was standing at the counter of the Hometown Pantry Sunday morning when she said a young man came in and started yelling that someone owed him money.
Scott-Hubbard said she had a bad feeling.
"So the guy, he stormed up out of here. So when he stormed out, I just felt some un ease of there. I need to get out of here, or this young man is going to come shoot the place up," she said.
Police said the man, who they said is 24, returned around 6:14 and stole from the business. Then he returned again an hour and a half later and started shooting into the window.
"It was daylight."
Gregory Branch was on his way in.
"I was outside approaching the store I heard like two or three shots. Then I hears the car pull off," Branch said.
Meanwhile, Marlin White was standing in line inside the store.
"I ducked down as fast as I could," White said. "I literally just boom! I didn't know what was going to happen. I could have just gotten shot," White said.
Police said the suspect ran, and an officer found him at his home down the road. Zarate then fired several shots at the officer, striking him twice.
Investigators said he barricaded himself in the home while the wounded officer was transported to the hospital by his fellow officers.
Fortunately, his condition is stable, and the gunman was taken into custody early Monday morning.
"I know what he is going through. I know what the family is going through, and just praying for him," Brach said.
The wounded officer has been an officer for 12 years, the last three with the Bolingbrook Police Department. The incident remains under investigation by the Illinois State Police.
