As many as five suspects are large after they shot and wounded an off-duty Chicago Police officer Wednesday on the city's west side, authorities say.
According to officials, the incident occurred around 9:15 p.m. in the 2200 block of West Maypole Avenue, in the city's West Town neighborhood.
During a press conference Wednesday night, Interim Chicago Police Supt. Fred Waller said the officer was driving in an alleyway near Maypole and Leavitt when he encountered garbage cans blocking his path. The officer got out of his vehicle to move them out of the way, Waller said.
"Upon returning to his vehicle, several subjects, approximately maybe five, confronted him and began firing upon him," Waller said.
The officer then returned fire and was fired upon again before driving off to safety, Waller said, adding that the officer was transported to Stroger Hospital with a graze wound to the arm. Photos and video from the hospital's entrance show multiple police officers standing outside of, and going in and out of the building.
According to officials, the officer was last listed in good condition. Still, the officer was shaken, Waller said.
Local
"I did speak with him," Waller said, during the press conference. "Naturally, he's very emotional, and happy to just be grazed in the arm. Because of the amount of shell casing we found out there, it could have been very much worse."
According to officials, the officer, in his 20s, was returning home from dinner when the shooting occurred. At least one weapon was recovered from the scene, Waller said.
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly Chicago Catch-Up newsletter.
No one is in custody, and police say the incident is under investigation by both law enforcement and the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, which is investigating the officer's use of force.
The shooting comes approximately three weeks after the Chicago Police Department held a funeral for fallen officer Aréanah Preston, an off-duty CPD officer who was shot in killed in the Avalon Park neighborhood while returning home from her shift.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
