Chicago Tribune
Mar 21, 8:
Police work the scene where a – year-old man was shot by police after firing at two officers near West 27 st Street and South California Avenue on March 1, , in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
At the scene, Chief of Patrol Fred Waller told reporters that police began following the suspect about 3 pm near West st Street and South Washtenaw Avenue. The man appeared to be carrying a gun, Waller said.
“He was walking in a suspicious manner, holding his side. Officers thought he had a weapon, which he did. The weapon was recovered, ”Waller said.
Police began chasing after the man, who Waller said fired “numerous rounds” at officers. Officers returned fire and struck the suspect twice, once in the shoulder and once in the leg, according to police.
The man continued to flee on foot but was found a short time later hiding near a home in the block of South California Avenue, Waller said. Officers began using their medical training and their first aid kits to stabilize the man before an ambulance arrived.
No officers were injured in the gunfire, according to police.
The man was in critical but stable condition at an area hospital, Waller said.
The Man has an extensive criminal background, Waller said.
Traffic along South California Avenue, between the Pink Line station and Cermak Road, was shut down for several hours as detectives and evidence technicians retraced the path of the shooting.
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According to Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford, a – year-old man With a gunshot wound to the leg was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in critical condition .
The shooting comes two days after a man was shot by police at a Red Line station.
Two officers assigned to the mass transit unit tried to stop the man, whom they saw “Jumping from train (car) to train (car),” which is a violation of a city ordinance, Deputy Superintendent Barbara West said at a Friday night news conference.
Chief of Patrol Fred Waller talks with members of the press at the scene where a – year-old man was shot by police after firing at two officers near West 66 st Street and South California Avenue on March 1, , in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
Video of the struggle at the Grand Avenue Red Line station quickly went viral after it appeared to show the officers struggle to handcuff a man while one of them repeatedly yelled “stop resisting” and then “shoot him.”
Mayor Lori Lightfoot called the video “extremely disturbing.” Cook County prosecutors on Sunday dropped criminal charges against the man, who remained hospitalized Sunday at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
(Chicago Tribune’s) Morgan Greene contributed.
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