The man suspected of shooting a Chicago police officer Saturday, as well as a woman in the Fulton River District days before, has been charged in connection with both shootings, authorities said Monday.
Michael Blackman, 45, was charged with five counts of attempted murder and ordered held without bond, Chicago police said Monday. CPD spokesman Anthony Guglielmi initially tweeted early Monday that he had been charged with four counts, a number that was corrected to five at a news conference later in the morning.
Authorities say Blackman shot a police officer at around 8:40 a.m. Saturday in the 6500 block of South Winchester Avenue in the city's Englewood neighborhood.
Amid an hours-long manhunt, detectives went to a vacant lot on South Hoyne Avenue on the city's South Side where they believed Blackman was hiding.
A confrontation with police ensued at around 3:40 p.m., during which Blackman sustained multiple gunshot wounds, officials said. The suspect then fled over railroad tracks, and was apprehended by officers, according to police, who said he was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in critical condition.
"When we went to go search that lot, this defendant popped up, at which point, this is when the gun battled ensued between the defendant and the officers," Chicago police Deputy Chief Brendan Deenihan said at a news conference Saturday.
Police said the earlier shooting of the officer took place at an Englewood home where they believed Blackman to be hiding, wanted in connection with the shooting of a woman in the Fulton River District on Wednesday. Guglielmi said once police knocked on the door, the offender attempted to flee and was confronted by officers before he escaped.
Blackman has an extensive criminal history, Guglielmi said, dating back to 1991, ranging from burglary to battery and criminal trespass.
The 48-year-old officer shot was taken in a police squad car to Advocate Christ Medical Center, where he underwent surgery. Authorities said had he not created a tourniquet and applied pressure to the area when he did, he might have succumbed to his injuries.
