2 charged after exchanging gunfire with CPD sergeant on NW Side

Two men have been charged after an exchange of gunfire with an off-duty Chicago Police sergeant left one of the men wounded Sunday evening in the Northwest Side Albany Park neighborhood.

Fernando Brieto-Solano, 22, and 26-year-old Juan Ramirez each face one felony count of first-degree attempted murder, according to Chicago Police. Ramirez was also charged with one felony count of unlawful use of a weapon by a felon.

On Tuesday, Judge Adam Bourgeois Jr. ordered both men held at Cook County Jail on a $2 million bond, court records show.

About 7:30 p.m. Sunday, the Town Hall District sergeant was walking with several friends in the 4500 block of North Kedzie when Brieto-Solano and Ramirez pulled up in a dark-colored vehicle and an argument ensued, police said.

The vehicle then pulled into a nearby business parking lot and turned around toward the sergeant and his friends to continue the argument, police said. Brieto-Solano then pulled out a gun and opened fire at the sergeant and his companions, two men, ages 43 and 45. The sergeant returned fire at the vehicle, which sped away.

Neither the sergeant nor his friends were injured in the exchange of gunfire, police said.

A short time later, Brieto-Solano showed up at Swedish Covenant Hospital with a gunshot wound to his head, police said. His injuries were not thought to be life-threatening. Investigators later determined he was involved in the shooting with the off-duty sergeant. While Brieto-Solano was being admitted into the hospital, Ramirez hid a gun in the parking lot, which was later recovered during a search of the area.

The incident is the fourth police-involved shooting so far in 2017.

The officer will be placed on routine administrative duties for 30 days, according to police, and the Independent Police Review Authority will conduct a use of force investigation of the incident.

Brieto-Solano and Ramirez, who both live in the 2700 block of North Major, are due back in court Feb. 7.