Chicago Police officer, suspect shot in East Chatham

A Chicago Police officer was shot in the hand and a suspect was also wounded late Saturday in an East Chatham neighborhood apartment building on the South Side.

Officers on routine patrol got out of their vehicle just after 11 p.m. when they saw people drinking on the street in the 8100 block of South Maryland Avenue, Deputy Supt. Kevin Navarro said in a press conference early Sunday. When the officers walked up to the group, one of the people ran into an apartment building stairwell.

The officers chased him into the stairwell and saw he had a gun, Navarro said. During a struggle for the weapon, the suspect shot an officer in the hand. The officer’s partner returned fire, striking the suspect. A gun was recovered at the scene.

GalleryThe officer was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was listed in good condition, police said.

The suspect, whose age was not known, suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was taken to Stroger Hospital, police and the Chicago Fire Department said. Chicago Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the suspect was in custody and their injuries were not thought to be life-threatening.

Another officer was taken from the scene in good condition to Little Company of Mary Hospital in Evergreen Park, said Chicago Fire Department Deputy District Chief Michael DelGreco. The nature of that officer’s injuries was not available.

More than two dozen members of the Chicago Police Department could be seen investigating outside the apartment building early Sunday. A handful of evidence markers littered the sidewalk near a pool of blood and a plastic cup.

The officers involved will be placed on routine administrative duties for a period of 30 days. The Independent Police Review Authority was investigating the use of force.

The officers were part of the Summer Mobile Unit, according to police. Officers from the same unit were involved in a shootout that killed 17-year-old Corsean Lewis late Friday in the Washington Park neighborhood on the South Side.

Contributing: Tom Schuba