Student shot by U of C police charged at officer with pipe: officials

A student was shot by a University of Chicago police officer after charging at the officer with a metal pipe following reports of a burglary Tuesday night in the South Side Hyde Park neighborhood, officials said.

University police were called about a burglary in progress at 10:13 p.m. in the 5300 block of South Kimbark, according to Chicago Police.

Three officers arrived to find “a young male individual with a long metal pipe, breaking car and apartment windows,” according to a statement from University of Chicago President Robert J. Zimmer and Provost Daniel Diermeier.

The officers told him to drop the pipe, but he refused and charged at one of the officers with it, university officials said. The officer then fired his weapon, hitting the suspect in the shoulder.

Investigators later learned that the person shot is a student at the university, officials said. His parents have been contacted about the shooting.

Police said the student was initially taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in serious condition. University officials said he had since been stabilized.

“The University Department of Safety and Security will conduct an administrative investigation of the incident,” a university spokesperson said in a statement. “The officer has been placed on mandatory administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.”

University officials said the shooting was captured by body cameras and the footage would be released “as soon as feasible.”