Chicago Police shot and critically wounded a woman who allegedly attempted to scam the Gold Coast Louis Vuitton clothing store Saturday afternoon.
Police said the woman was trying to buy merchandise with a stolen credit card.
Police responded at 12:05 p.m. to a call of a “deceptive practice” in the 900 block of North Michigan Avenue. A man and woman fled the scene when officers arrived, police News Affairs said in a Saturday afternoon statement.
Police later identified the couple as Cornielius Banks, 19, and Sheila Ferguson, 30.
“The female offender struggled with an officer and attempted to disarm the officer, at which point shots were fired and the female offender was struck in the abdomen,” the statement said.
An ambulance took Ferguson to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in serious-to-critical condition, Fire Media Affairs spokesman Joe Roccasalva said.
Two officers were also taken to Northwestern Hospital with minor injuries. One of the officers injured his arm and the other was “shaken up,” Roccasalva said.
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Police News Affairs Director Roderick Drew said employees of the Louis Vuitton store at 919 N. Michigan Ave. recognized the man and woman as possible “offenders” and contacted police. The duo fled when they saw police approaching.
Edis Sivac, a witness on the scene, said he saw the woman coming from the direction of the store and enter a black car with a man in the driver’s seat.
The car could not get very far because of traffic. Police in pursuit were shouting for them to stop and Banks exited the vehicle and ran east on East Walton Street. Ferguson then got out of the car, ran around to the driver’s seat and tried to drive away, Sivac said.
“She was trying to drive away,” Sivac said. “She thought [the police] were going to go after him.”
One officer entered the car and a reported struggle ensued, prompting someone to use a chemical spray, Sivac said. He was not sure whether the officer or Ferguson used the spray.
Local hotel worker Lucian Mursin, 34, witnessed the incident and said the officer told the woman seven or eight times to stop the car.
Drew said Ferguson reached for the officer’s gun during the struggle and shots were fired.
Another witness on the scene, who did not want to be identified, said she saw a person was shot and a man near her, also watching the commotion, looked agitated.
“He kept asking, ‘Did they shoot her? Did they shoot her?,’” the witness said. “He was very upset.”
The woman then asked police if the agitated man was with Ferguson. The man began to back away before being taken into custody.
The vehicle where the shooting happened was surrounded by police tape more than an hour after the incident, and a purse remained resting on the top.
The Independent Police Review Authority is investigating the incident, spokesman Mark Payne said.
Banks was charged with aggravated battery to a police officer. Ferguson, who remained hospitalized Monday, was charged with two counts of aggravated battery to a police officer, disarm of a peace officer and forgery.
