A gunman in an SUV shot an off-duty Chicago police officer Tuesday afternoon in Irving Park, then led officers on a chase, hitting two squad cars as police fired at him.
The suspect escaped, and the SUV was later found abandoned about 3 miles away by Northeastern Illinois University police. No one was in custody.
The off-duty probationary officer, 27, had been headed north on Elston Avenue around 3:10 p.m. when the SUV in front of her abruptly stopped at Addison Street, and the SUV’s driver pulled a firearm and began shooting, police said.
The officer was shot in her face and taken to Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where Police Supt. David Brown said her injuries were not thought to be life-threatening.
“She is talking. She apparently did not lose consciousness,” he said. “So thank goodness that she’s going to be able to recover.”
The officer didn’t appear to have pulled a gun or returned fire, Brown said.
“Really, everywhere across this country, it seems personal conflicts have ended more and more with escalating violence,” he said. “So it’s a concern of ours.”
Officers tried to stop a vehicle in the 5000 block of West Lawrence Avenue, but it struck two squad cars as an officer discharged a firearm, police said. No one was struck, and no injuries were reported, police said.
The driver fled, and the SUV was later found, unoccupied, in the 5800 block of North Drake Avenue.
