Off-duty correctional officer shot; wounded suspect arrested at hospital

A man charged with shooting an off-duty correctional officer during a carjacking attempt early Sunday in the Gresham neighborhood was arrested when he showed up with a gunshot wound at the same hospital where the officer was being treated.

James Tillman, 21, of the Near West Side, was charged with attempted first-degree murder; aggravated battery with discharge of a firearm; and attempted aggravated vehicular hijacking, Chicago Police said.

On Monday, Judge Maria Kuriakos Ciesil ordered Tillman held without bond, according to court records.

Police said Tillman tried to rob a 34-year-old Cook County sheriff’s correctional officer in the 7900 block of South Paulina about 3:40 a.m. Sunday and ended up shooting him in the hand.

Prosecutors said the off-duty officer was in a car when Tillman approached and tapped on the car window with a gun. Tillman shot the officer in the left hand and ran off when the officer fired a gun, prosecutors said.

The officer apparently wounded Tillman, who showed up Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn with a gunshot wound later that day, according to prosecutors. That’s the same hospital where the officer had been taken for treatment.

Tillman, of the 1200 block of West Hastings, was arrested about 5:15 p.m. at the hospital, and witnesses positively identified him in a photo lineup, prosecutors said.

In an email, Sophia Ansari, a spokeswoman for the sheriff’s office, said: “It appears the officer is going to be OK. . . . Our primary concern is for the safety and well-being of our officer.”