“Make no mistake about it, we’re going to catch them…if they will fire at police officers like that, then they have no thought process regarding firing at other citizens of this great city.”
Two Chicago police officers from the Deering District were shot and wounded late Tuesday when two vehicles pulled up alongside their surveillance van and started firing in what authorities believe was a targeted attack. The windshield and driver’s side of the officer’s black van were riddled with dozens of bullet holes.
“We believe that the officers were definitely targeted” said police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi.
The shooting happened in the Back of the Yards neighborhood, a high crime area on the city’s South Side. The officers were conducting a follow-up investigation to a previous incident when two vehicles pulled up and began firing. The officers were wearing civilian clothes at the time but had on vests with police badges on them, Guglielmi said.
One officer was shot in the back, and the other was shot in the arm and hip. The officers were being treated at Stroger Hospital but were expected to recover. Both officers were conscious, alert, and able to speak to relatives, investigators, and medical personnel as they were being treated for their injuries. The officers managed to return fire, but it’s unclear if anyone else was hit.
Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson said the attack is just another example of how dangerous officers’ jobs are. “I think we take it for granted that when police officers come to work every day, they put their lives on the line every single day they get in that car to protect the citizens of this city.”
Family members along with Johnson, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Alderman Raymond Lopez, and Chicago Fraternal Order of Police president Kevin Graham all came to the hospital where the officers were being treated.
Alderman Patrick Thompson, whose ward is also served by Deering District officers, said he believes repeat gun offenders likely were responsible. That’s why he called on state lawmakers to do more about gun crimes.
“This act of senseless gun violence again shows that we need to do something in Springfield. We need to pass sensible gun legislation to stop this insanity. It happened here now to two police officers. It happens on our streets way too often, and so I’m asking that we do something down in Springfield to curb this gun violence: to help the police officers, to help them do their jobs.”
Police have been questioning three people of interest in the shooting since late Tuesday night, but a massive manhunt was still ongoing in the Back of the Yards and neighboring Canaryville neighborhoods.
“Make no mistake about it, we’re going to catch them. We are going to get these individuals responsible,” Johnson said. “If they will fire at police officers like that, then they have no thought process regarding firing at other citizens of this great city, so we are going to get them.”
Two vehicles and two guns have been recovered that may have been used in the shooting about a mile and a half away. The US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives was assisting police with the investigation.
