CHICAGO — A Chicago Police officer who was shot Friday in Garfield Park is expected to survive thanks to his bulletproof vest, and police are looking for a second person in the attack.
At 2:25 p.m., the officer was shot while in the 4600 block of West Maypole Avenue, police said. The officer was hit in his bulletproof vest and taken to Loyola Hospital, where his condition was not available but he was listed as "stable," said Chicago Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi.
The emergency room physician who treated him said he would be released later Friday.
A second officer was hurt in the incident, but the injuries were minor and the officer was taken to a hospital in good condition, police said.
A 25-year-old woman, who police said was an "offender," was shot in her abdomen, knee and thigh. She was taken to Stroger Hospital in critical condition.
Supt. Eddie Johnson said officers are looking for a second person from the shooting. They found a handgun at the scene, he said.
Neighbors said the area has gang and drug problems.
Kevin Graham, the Fraternal Order of Police president, told reporters at Loyola Medical Center in suburban Maywood, "We are being attacked, [but these officers] are still in the fight...They survived because they depended on each other, their training and their common sense."
Dozens of officers were at the scene in the aftermath of the shooting. At a news conference outside Loyola, emergency room physician Dr. Kristen Donaldson said the hospital had been able to call the family of the officer hit in the vest and say he would be coming home that night.
"Today we have seen gun violence in Chicago hit home," said Donaldson, who told the crowd she was the wife of a Chicago Police officer. "... We should be living in a safe city."
Charles Hannon, 47, who said he has lived in the neighborhood for about 20 years, said he was walking down the street when he saw police officers talking to another person on the street from their police car. "When they got out of the car [the person] started to run. It wasn't ten seconds and they started shooting," he said.
In Garfield Park, neighbor Michael Thompson said he heard 10 to 13 gunshots after seeing Chicago Police chasing a man near railroad tracks.
Jerry Bonner, who has owned AB & S Auto at 4641 W. Maypole Ave. on the block for nearly three decades, said he heard "at least 15 to 20 rounds" fired off during the incident.
"It's an industrial area as well as a neighborhood where people live," said Bonner. "I can only speak for myself. I've never had any altercations here but it is a drug-infested area."
The officer is the third to be shot in Chicago this month. Two officers were wounded in a shooting in Back of the Yards on May 2. In that incident, the attackers mistook the officers for rival gang members, police said. The officers are recovering from the shooting.
Bulletproof vests were also credited for saving officers in that case. The $500 vests are the responsibility of the officers to obtain, though fundraisers help cover the cost through the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation's Get Behind The Vest program.
Check back for updates.
Officer shot - 4619 W. Maypole. Transported to Loyola hospital. Superintendent responding. Possible offender shot also. Details to follow
— Anthony Guglielmi (@AJGuglielmi) May 12, 2017
