Off-duty officer fires shots at group trying to steal catalytic converter in Irving Park
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Police were investigating Tuesday after an off-duty Chicago Police officer fired shots at a group trying to steal a catalytic converter in the Irving Park neighborhood.
As CBS 2's Tara Molina reported, gunshots and squealing tires were heard in the 2800 block of West Grace Street, right off Francisco Avenue.
Police said the off-duty officer noticed several people trying to steal a catalytic converter from a car parked on the street around 3 a.m.
A member of the theft crew saw they were being watched and pointed a gun at the off-duty officer, who was armed himself and fired shots.
The would-be catalytic converter thefts took off. They sped away in more than one car, according to Chicago Police.
One of those getaway cars did some serious damage. It crashed right into Jahayra Gutierrez's Toyota RAV 4 – the back of which was wrecked.
"My speakers are broken and everything," Gutierrez said. "I mean, the glass literally reached all the way to the front of the car."
Gutierrez's car bore the brunt, but it was not the only one damaged.
"I'm just waiting for my neighbor to come out here and see what we can do together," she said.
Gutierrez said she parked the RAV 4 on a white line several feet behind where it ended up. It was pushed an entire car length into the neighbor's car parked in front of it - by a member of that theft crew in the getaway car.
Gutierrez moved to Chicago in the spring and tried to find a safe neighborhood. As it is, she has and already dealt with a break-in – and now this has happened.
"I had a mix of emotions – I was mad, upset, everything - disappointed really in what's going on in this area where it's supposed to be safe," she said. "But I don't think it's safe anymore."
Police said the officer was not injured, but was taken to the hospital for chest pain.
No one was in custody late Tuesday in connection with the incident. The Civilian Office of Police Accountability is investigating, as are Chicago Police themselves.
