Two Chicago Police Officers, One Suspect Shot In Homan Square Neighborhood
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Two Chicago police officers were shot in Chicago's Homan Square neighborhood Sunday morning. The officers fired back after a man shot at them, according to the Chicago Police Department.
The shooting took place around 2:30 a.m. in the 3300 block of West Polk Street, near Spaulding Avenue, when the officers were conducting a traffic stop on a vehicle matching the description from a person with a gun call.
Officers saw a gun in the car from the outside, police said. They told the man to get out, but he refused and locked himself in, and officers broke the windows. There was a struggle, and the two officers were shot.
A third officer on the scene shot the suspect. The suspect was taken to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, according to CPD.
The officers were taken to Stroger Hospital of Cook County. Video showed one of the officers being pulled out of a squad car and onto a stretcher outside the hospital.
As CBS 2's Marissa Parra reported, one of the officers was released from the hospital on Sunday afternoon, and the other, who was in serious condition at last check, was still being treated as of 5:30 p.m. but was expected to recover.
Police Supt. David Brown shared a photo on Twitter of officers holding what looked like a makeshift vigil.
Amid the context of this summer, with protests calling for defunding or abolishing the police, both Supt. Brown and Mayor Lori Lightfoot held a rare 4 a.m. news conference Sunday in which they stressed the need for more police support.
"When officers leave home, they never really know what the day holds, whether or not they'll be asked to make the ultimate sacrifice," Brown said. "They weren't asked to make the ultimate sacrifice, but they were shot."
"The only people who are qualified - based upon training and supervision and courage, to respond to a person with a gun, to respond when our residents are in danger - the only people qualified to do that are the police," Mayor Lightfoot said.
Twelve hours later, police were seen canvassing the neighborhood where it happened.
At last check, the man who was shot by an officer was in critical condition at Loyola. The officer who remained hospitalized late Sunday was expected to be at Stroger for a few more days.
Both officers are men in their early 20s who have been on the force for about two years.
CBS 2 has also confirmed that both officers were wearing body cameras. CBS 2 has made a request for the footage.
The Civilian Office of Police Accountability is investigating. The officers will be placed on administrative duties for the next 30 days.
