BUCKTOWN — An off-duty Chicago Police officer shot and killed a man trying to break into a Bucktown home early Monday after the burglar grabbed the officer's gun and shot him in the arm, police said.
The 44-year-old officer, a veteran of the Near North District, survived the shooting. The burglar died on the scene, police said.
The incident happened about 3:30 a.m., when the off-duty officer was returning home from work. He saw a man trying to break into a nearby house under construction in the 1600 block of West Wabansia Avenue, police said in a statement.
The officer, who was still in uniform, said he saw the man holding a dark object. He drew his gun and told him to drop the object, police said.
The man lunged at him, tried to grab the gun, and the two began to struggle, police said.
The gun fired during the struggle, and the officer was hit in his arm. He ultimately gained control of the gun and shot the man, who continued to fight until he died on the scene, police said.
The man was pronounced dead at 4:03 a.m., according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office.
On Tuesday afternoon, the man was identified as Steven Isby, a 53-year-old man of an unknown address.
The officer was hospitalized in stable condition.
The officer works on the "entertainment detail" in the Near North district and is a 20-year veteran of the police force, said Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy, adding that he knows the "hardworking, good" cop.
McCarthy was at the hospital early Monday morning to check on the officer, who is doing all right, aside from being in "a lot of pain," McCarthy said.
The bullet, which pierced through the officer's left biceps, may have long-term effects, McCarthy said. It was unclear how the officer was shot, said McCarthy.
"He's in good spirits at the hospital. He's obviously upset about the incident and having to take someone's life, but at this point he's OK. What the long term is going to show, I'm not positive," McCarthy said.
The man was recognized by officers in the Shakespeare district as someone they have arrested numerous times, McCarthy said. The man also wielded a screwdriver during the attack, McCarthy said.
Mary Ryan, 35, said she had to weave through police tape to leave her home on her way to work Monday morning.
"It's terrifying. It's unnerving," said Ryan, adding she heard a commotion that seemed like arguing early Monday morning but didn't hear the gunshots.
Bucktown resident Bobby Mitchell, who owns an apartment building a few doors north of where the incident occurred, stood near police tape Monday morning.
“This is very scary," he said. "People read about Chicago being a war zone, and I guess no one is immune to it.”
Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd) said he was at the site of the shooting at 4:15 a.m. Monday after hearing about it from Steve Jensen, president of the Bucktown Community Organization, who was also there.
Waugespack said he was "glad to see the officer was OK."
"Once we found it was an officer that had been attacked by this guy, that was my biggest concern," he said.
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