CHICAGO — An off-duty Cook County Sheriff working security at Millennium Park shot a man after the man fired a gun Friday evening, Chicago police said.
Around 7:20 p.m., a man in his early 20′s refused to be wanded at the entrance of Millennium Park, the Chicago Police Department said in a media notification.
The man jumped a fence and as security approached him he turned and fired, police said. An off-duty Cook County Sheriff’s officer working security at the park returned fire and struck the man, police said.
The man then ran toward the 300 block of East Riverwalk where he was taken into custody, police said. The man was taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries, police said.
The off-duty sheriff was taken to a hospital for observation, police said.
Millennium Park hired off-duty armed officers to increase security at the park after Mayor Lori Lightfoot banned unaccompanied minors from Millennium Park after 6 p.m. Thursday to Sunday in the wake of a fatal shooting of 16-year-old Seandell Holliday on May 14.
Starting Thursday, security checked bags at each entrance and used a metal-detector wand to scan people into the park.
Armed security guards walked around the park, some wearing bulletproof vests, and one armed security guard stood at each of the park’s entrances.
———
