Man Shot to Death by Chicago Police in Pilsen After Driver Allegedly Attempts to Run Them Over

A man was shot and killed by Chicago Police early Saturday in the Pilsen neighborhood after the driver of a car allegedly attempted to run over two officers.

Ogden District Cmdr. Frank Valadez and an officer assigned to the district were on patrol near 23rd and Wood at about 1:30 a.m. when they saw someone firing shots from one vehicle into another, according to a statement from Police News Affairs.

Valadez and the officer pursued the vehicle in their squad car to the intersection of 19th and Ashland, where the vehicle hit several parked cars, according to police.

They exited the squad car and moved in to intercept the suspects, at which point the driver “purposefully reversed” the vehicle to hit the Valadez and the officer, police said.

Valadez and the officer then fired their weapons, hitting at least one of the vehicle’s occupants, police said. The driver continued to try to drive away, but was apprehended after the vehicle hit multiple other parked vehicles.

Police Supt. Garry McCarthy released a statement following the shooting, calling the incident an "attempted murder" of the officers. 

"Commander Francis Valadez and an officer witnessed an attempted murder and aggressively pursued those responsible," McCarthy said in the statement. "While the police involved shooting is under investigation by the Independent Police Review Authority, the incidennt is a clear depiction of how the men adn women of the Chicago Police Department are on the front lines, relentlessly targeting those individuals who torment our neighborhoods with gun violence." 

One of the vehicle’s occupants was unresponsive at the scene, police said. The Cook County medical examiner’s office confirmed the death of an adult man at that location, but could not provide further details Saturday morning.

Several other people related to the incident were later located and are being questioned by Area Central detectives, police said. A handgun was recovered from the vehicle.

Valadez and the officer suffered non-life-threatening injuries, police said. The shooting remains under investigation by the Independent Police Review Authority.

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