Chicago Police Officer Seriously Wounded in Traffic Stop Shooting
By Rosemary Sobol and Stephanie Casanova
Source Chicago Tribune
CHICAGO — A Chicago police officer was expected to spend the night at a hospital after she was shot and seriously wounded during a traffic stop late Wednesday afternoon in the Englewood neighborhood.
Meanwhile, police were searching for “at least two” suspects, police Superintendent David Brown told reporters.
About 5:45 in the 6100 block of Paulina Street, two uniformed officers driving a marked squad car tried to make a traffic stop, Brown said.
The driver of the car they were trying to pull over sped off, then slowed down, coming parallel with the police car, Brown said.
Suddenly, someone inside the car fired at the officers, wounding a female officer, according to Brown, who said she was in serious but “stable” condition at the University of Chicago Medical Center, where she will spend the night.
Earlier, Brown described her condition as critical.
The suspects crashed the car moments later and ran, Brown said. Witnesses told police they may have run in different directions and fled into nearby buildings, Brown said.
Officers found a gun in the area where the car crashed and found car keys that were dropped near the gun, Brown said.
”It’s too early to determine whether or not this is the gun,” Brown said. “But we have found a gun in the immediate area where the offender fled after crashing the car.”
Helicopters and police surrounded the area where the shooting happened.
At about 6:30 p.m. near the hospital, 5841 S. Maryland Ave., officers were directing traffic.
Southbound Cottage Grove Avenue was blocked at 55th Street while northbound traffic on Cottage Grove was diverted east or west at 57th Street.
Additionally, about a dozen police cars were stationed nearby and around the hospital’s emergency room.
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