CHICAGO — A Chicago police officer was badly hurt during a shootout with a gunman who was also shot Wednesday evening on the Southwest Side, officials said.
The officer was rushed to Mount Sinai Hospital, where the officer was listed in “very critical” condition, said Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford.
The alleged offender, a male, was taken to Stroger Hospital, with a gunshot wound to the upper body. His condition had stabilized, said Langford.
The shooting happened along a residential block of South Spaulding Avenue.
An officer could be heard screaming to a 911 dispatcher after a call of shots fired at 5258 S. Spaulding Ave. came over to the city’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications.
”10-1! 10-1, officer down, officer down! ... I need an ambo, get an ambo – officer down!”
Officer Michelle Tannehill, a spokesperson for Chicago police, said public information officers were on the scene.
Additionally, representatives from the Civilian Office of Police Accountability were also there, confirming at least one officer discharged a gun.
As of about 6:45 p.m., a chunk of South Spaulding Avenue, which is one-way going south, was blocked off with red police tape at West 51st Street, a scene flanked by more than a dozen Chicago police squad cars.
Some nearby residents were seen hanging around in front of houses, while others saw the commotion while on their way home and quickly made their way inside. Others also stood across the intersection, watching events unfold.
The shooting comes on the heels of an announcement by Police Superintendent David Brown that he is resigning later this month.
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