A Chicago police officer and two federal agents working undercover were shot and wounded early Wednesday morning while driving onto an exp...
A Chicago police officer and two federal agents working undercover were shot and wounded early Wednesday morning while driving onto an expressway on their way to an undisclosed assignment.
The shooting took place at 5.50am near the 22nd District police station in the Morgan Park neighborhood on the South City of Chicago, which has been overwhelmed with gun violence.
The three law enforcement officers were in an unmarked car when they were shot, Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown told reporters during a press briefing. He declined to say what the trio were doing, or where they were headed, only saying they were 'conducting an investigation.'
Chicago police and ATF agents work the scene of a shooting on South Ashland Avenue near West 118th Street next to Interstate 57 Wednesday, which left a city officer and two federal agents wounded
The two ATF agents and Chicago cop were shot on an onramp to Interstate 57 as they worked undercover in the early hours of Wednesday morning
An ATF agent works the scene of the shooting on Chicago's South Side Wednesday
A car involved in the officers' shooting sits outside Chicago Police Department's Morgan Park District station
Two of the officers are agents from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and one is a Chicago officer, Brown said. Their injuries were not considered life-threatening.
No arrests have been reported as the unidentified suspect or suspects remained at large.
The shooting comes the same day as a scheduled visit to suburban Crystal Lake, Illinois, by President Joe Biden to promote his economic plan.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has said she plans to discuss gun control and the city’s violence, which has included a sharp spike in shootings this year, when she meets with the president.
At the morning press conference, Brown declined to talk about what the officers were working on. He did not say whether the shooter or shooters knew that they were officers, and department spokesman Tom Ahern later said that detectives had not yet interviewed the three officers to determine if they believe whoever shot them knew they were law enforcement officers.
The three injured officers were on their way to an undisclosed undercover assignment before 6am when a suspect or suspects opened fire on their unmarked vehicle
A bullet sits on the street at a crime scene near the border between the Morgan Park and West Pullman neighborhoods
Police officers stand outside Advocate Christ Medical Center, where the injured victims were taken for treatment
The officers, described as experienced and senior, Brown said, were driving on an onramp to Interstate 57 when they were 'fired upon from the street.'
One of the ATF agents was shot in the hand and the other was struck in the torso. The Chicago officer was struck on the back of his head but that 'it appears to be a graze wound.' All three were in stable condition.
The shootings come a day after police reported that 100 people were shot in Chicago — including two police officers who were wounded while trying to break up a crowd — over the long Fourth of July weekend.
The holiday bloodbath left 18 people dead, up from the same time last year, where 17 people were killed and 70 more were wounded.
An overhead shot shows police vehicles and personnel at the hospital after the shooting
Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown (center) said at a press conference this is a 'very challenging' time to be in law enforcement
With Wednesday’s shooting, 36 Chicago officers have been shot so far this year, Brown said.
'This is a very challenging time to be in law enforcement but they are rising to the challenge of doing all they can. And the work they do is extremely dangerous,' Brown said.
Brown previously put much of the blame for the proliferation of gun violence on a court system that allows people charged with violent crimes, including murder, to be released from custody on electronic monitoring.
On Wednesday, he eluded to some of his previous statements concerning the rise in crime rates.
'I think this highlights some of the things I've been saying over the last several weeks,' Brown said. 'The officers are performing their jobs at the highest level. They're risking everything to protect the people of Chicago and this includes our collaboration with ATF officers.'
The shooting took place just hours before President Joe Biden landed at O'Hare International Airport, where he was greeted by Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot
Chicago Alderman Matt O’Shea said on Wednesday the city was overrun with 100,000 gang members.
'They are emboldened and have nothing to fear from law enforcement,' O'Shea told the Chicago Sun-Times. 'The police are under siege.'
Even before the holiday weekend, the Chicago Police Department said in the first six months of the year there were 332 homicides compared to 338 for the same period last year and that there were more shooting victims and shooting incidents than during the same six-month period last year.
Alderman Anthony Napolitano recently called the city a 'war zone' and blasted Mayor Lightfoot for the surge in crime.
Lightfoot has blamed joblessness, poverty and out-of-state gun smuggling for the ongoing violence spiral gripping the city of 2.7 million people she runs.
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