A Chicago police officer fatally shot a person who pulled a gun during a foot chase Saturday morning in the Lawndale neighborhood on the West Side, according to police.
The encounter started about 10 a.m. while officers were in the 3800 block of West Flournoy Street on a “gang de-escalation mission,” following another fatal shooting that happened nearby last week, Deputy Chief Rahman Muhammad told reporters.
The officers noticed a group of people near a vehicle, with one person leaning into it, police said.
That person ran through a gangway when officers approached, Muhammad said.
As the officers chased him, he allegedly turned toward the officer and “brandished a handgun” before one officer shot him, Muhammad said.
He was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he later died, according to police, who didn’t release his age. A firearm was recovered at the scene, officials said.
The officer who opened fire was taken to a hospital for observation.
A police spokesman called the person who was shot a “suspect.” The officers approached the group as “a protective measure to see what the individuals were doing, not that they were doing anything to begin with,” Muhammad said.
“This is a tragic incident that occurred, not just for the officers involved but for the individual involved,” Muhammad said.
The Civilian Office of Police Accountability, which investigates any time a Chicago police officer opens fire, asked anyone with information on the shooting to call (312) 746-3609.
The officers involved in the shooting are being placed on routine administrative duties for 30 days.
