A Chicago police officer was shot numerous times while responding to a domestic disturbance Friday and is hospitalized in a serious condition, officials said.
Officers responded to the call at around 8:30 a.m., Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown said in a press conference.
Upon arrival, law enforcement officials took an elevator up to the apartment. Once they got off the elevator, shots were fired at the officers by the suspect who is now in custody, Brown said.
One officer, a male who has been with the police department for 15 years, was shot multiple times and remains in serious condition, Brown added.
A police officer with the University of Illinois at Chicago was monitoring the Chicago Police radio and transported the injured officer in his squad car, “likely saving his life,” the superintendent said.
“We are asking prayers for this officer and his family and we are praying for a full recovery,” Brown said.
Officers did not fire their weapons during the incident and also recovered a gun from the scene, the superintendent added.
The suspect, a convicted felon, sustained an injury to his wrist and is being treated at a separate hospital, Brown said. There were no other injuries related to the incident, he added.
Brown said charges against the suspect are pending.
The incident is a reminder of “the difficulties and dangers” of working as an officer, Brown said, noting that “being a police officer in this country hasn’t been more dangerous in decades.”
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who also attended the press conference outside the hospital where the officer is being treated, spoke about the alarming rise of domestic violence crimes.
“It is a huge public health and public safety issue, which we’re working diligently to address,” she said. “But we have a long way to go as a society in understanding the danger to people in the household, the danger to our police, and the danger to ordinary residents when domestic violence happens inside of a household.”