A Chicago police officer has been taken to an area hospital in serious condition after she was shot while attempting to make a traffic stop in West Englewood on Wednesday afternoon.
According to a Chicago police spokesperson, the officer was shot near the intersection of 64th Street and Paulina Street on Wednesday afternoon.
According to Police Supt. David Brown, the officer and her partner were attempting to make a traffic stop in the 6100 block of South Paulina at approximately 5:42 p.m. when the suspects sped off from the scene.
After a short time, the suspects' vehicle slowed down and pulled alongside the marked CPD squad car. It was at that time that one of the suspects opened fire, striking the officer in the upper body.
The officer's partner managed to get in the driver's seat of the squad vehicle and drove her to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where she was initially listed in critical condition. She has since been upgraded to serious condition, and she will be hosptialized overnight, Brown said.
According to police, the officer was struck in the shoulder, but bullet fragments also struck her in the head.
The suspects' vehicle crashed nearby at the intersection of 64th Street and Bishop, according to police. The suspects then fled from the vehicle, and police are still on the scene searching for at least two suspects in the case.
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A SWAT team has been deployed, and police helicopters remain on the scene.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot issued a statement following the shooting, calling it an "outrageous attack."
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"I have asked the Superintendent to use every resource possible to find the person responsible for this attempted murder of a police officer and bring them to justice. Officers and detectives are hard at work on this urgent mission," she said.
There have now been 21 officers shot at so far, with four being struck, according to authorities.
