Two men, including one who police called an innocent bystander, were shot after police exchanged gunfire with at least one person in Pilsen Friday morning, Chicago police said.
Just after 6:50 a.m., two major accidents unit officers were driving to the police academy for training, and on the way they saw four people wearing masks loitering in front of a closed business in the 1000 block of West 18th Street, Superintendent David Brown said at a news conference Friday afternoon.
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After one officer identified himself as a Chicago Police Department officer, one of the people in the group pulled out a handgun.
“An exchange of gunfire occurred at that time,” Brown said.
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After the exchange of gunfire, both officers got out of their vehicle and the shooter, while running way, continued to fire shots at the officers, Brown said.
A 23-year-old man who was in the group was shot during the exchange of gunfire, Brown said. He was in serious but stable condition.
A 35-year-old man, who was an innocent bystander, also suffered a graze wound to the leg during the shooting, Brown said. He was taken to a hospital in good condition.
Brown said it was not immediately clear if it was the officers or the shooter who the two men were shot by during the exchange of gunfire.
The 23-year-old man who is at the hospital, a 22-year-old man and a 17-year-old are in custody, Brown said. But the shooter made his escape and a gun was not recovered.
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Neither of the officers were injured, Brown said. But it raises the total of officers shot or shot at so far this year to 36.
Investigators with the Civilian Office of Police Accountability also arrived to the shooting scene to investigate, COPA spokeswoman Jennifer Rottner said.
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The officers involved will be placed on routine administrative duties for a period of 30 days.
Check back for updates.
