Chicago

Officer Shot in Vest During Traffic Stop on South Side: Cops

Gunfire was reported near 83rd and Paulina in the city’s Gresham neighborhood

A Chicago police officer was shot in his vest during a traffic stop on the city's South Side Tuesday morning, authorities said.

CPD spokesman Anthony Guglielmi tweeted the officer from the 6th District was "shot by an offender and hit in the vest" near 87th and Paulina. 

The officer was conducting a "field interview of an armed person," Gugliemi said, when the incident escalated and the officer was shot. 

Officers returned fire and the gunman was listed in critical condition.

The officer was being transported to Little Company of Mary Hospital where he is expected to make a full recovery. 

"Thank God that he's OK," Supt. Eddie Johnson said. 

Gunfire was reported in the city’s Gresham neighborhood around 11 a.m. A heavy police presence was seen in the area. 

The shooting comes one day after an officer was killed in a shooting at Chicago’s Mercy Hospital.

"To everybody in the city, this is our police department. These are young men in this situation doing heroic work to protect us and protect other residents," Mayor Rahm Emanuel said Tuesday. "And I think it shouldn’t be lost on anybody, even though we’ve all been affected by last night. Here are two officers less than 24 hours later doing their job, stopping somebody that in the end did have a gun." 

St. Ethelreda School was on lockdown, officials said. The school is located blocks from where shots were fired. 

Police said 87th Street was closed from Western Avenue to Loomis due to police activity. Residents were being told to avoid the area. 

Contact Us