Park Erupts Into Melee; Man Shot By Police

UPDATED 06/20/11 5:33 a.m.

CHICAGO (CBS)-- Police on Sunday evening critically injured a suspect who allegedly pulled out a gun at a Father's Day event in Grand Crossing Park on the city's South Side.

The shooting, in the park near 77th Street and Ingleside Avenue, left the alleged offender critically wounded and sent three police officers to the hospital with unspecified injuries, officials said.

The park erupted into the chaos after shots rang out.

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About 6:25 p.m., uniformed Gresham District officers heard shots in the park, according to a statement from police News Affairs.

Crowds of people were running from the park, where a man in a white T-shirt was holding a 9 mm gun with an extended magazine, according to Chicago Fraternal Order of Police spokesman Pat Camden.

The officers responded to the park, and were confronted by an armed offender, who pointed and fired the weapon in their direction, the police statement said.

"(The officers) yelled, 'Police! Drop your gun!'" Camden said. "Instead he fired a shot at the police."

The officers fired back at and struck the man, police said.

The man was taken in critical condition to Stroger Hospital of Cook County, according to Fire Media Affairs Chief Joe Roccasalva.

Camden described the resulting scene as chaotic, prompting police to call a 10-1 -- an emergency call for an officer who needs assistance. Police who responded worked to evacuate the park, according to unconfirmed dispatch reports.

Three police officers were taken to Little Company of Mary Hospital in Evergreen Park in good condition, with minor injuries, Roccasalva said. Their exact injuries were not immediately known, though Camden said the injuries were likely suffered when the officers were trying to control crowds after the shooting.

Unconfirmed reports also indicated that a civilian was Tasered and transported to the University of Chicago Medical Center.

A large number of families had been in the park celebrating Father's Day at the time of the incident, Camden said.

A spokesman for the Independent Police Review Authority, which investigates all police-involved shootings, was not immediately available. A weapon was recovered at the scene, police said.

The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.