Suspect shot, in custody after shooting of Chicago police officer in West Englewood

Michael Blackman, 45, allegedly shot an officer Saturday after police tried to arrest him in connection with the shooting of a 29-year-old woman in the Fulton River District earlier in the week.

SHARE Suspect shot, in custody after shooting of Chicago police officer in West Englewood
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Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson speaks to the media Saturday after a police officer is critically wounded. Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who went to Christ Hospital and Medical Center in Oak Lawn to meet with the officer’s family, looks on.

Kevin Tanaka/For the Sun-Times

After a daylong manhunt in West Englewood, officers shot and arrested a man suspected of shooting a Chicago police officer on Saturday and wanted in connection with another shooting earlier in the week.

The suspect was shot about 3:35 p.m. following an “armed encounter” with officers near 64th Street and Bell Avenue, Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a tweet. No officers were injured in that encounter.

The suspect was identified as 45-year-old Michael Blackman, who was wanted in connection with the shooting of a 29-year-old woman Wednesday while riding a bike through the Fulton River District, according to Brendan Deenihan, deputy chief of the Chicago police’s Bureau of Detectives.

Blackman has not given a statement, but it appeared “he randomly targeted and shot this poor woman downtown,” Deenihan said.

Blackman shot the officer about 8:40 a.m. Saturday when the Chicago Police Department’s Fugitive Apprehension Unit arrived at a home near 65th Street and Winchester Avenue to arrest Blackman in connection with the woman’s shooting, Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson said.

After officers knocked on the door, Blackman ran out the back and shot the officer in the groin and leg, causing him to lose substantial amounts of blood, Johnson said. The officers returned gunfire, but it was unknown if Blackman was struck.

Police investigate Saturday, Sept. 21, 2019 in the block of 6500 S Winchester Avenue after a police officer was shot by a suspect in the shooting of a 29-year-old woman earlier in the week.

Police investigate Saturday, Sept. 21, 2019 in the block of 6500 S Winchester Avenue after a police officer was shot by a suspect in the shooting of a 29-year-old woman earlier in the week.

Kevin Tanaka/For the Sun Times

Gene Freeman, a 60-year-old West Englewood resident, said he heard the initial shooting this morning while sitting outside near 65th Street and Wolcott Avenue.

“I was on the porch, drinking a cup of coffee and looking at my phone, then all of sudden I heard shooting,” Freeman said. “It sounded like firecrackers, but then I got up and peeked to see police jumping, running and ducking behind their cars.”

The wounded officer applied a tourniquet to his leg and was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn by other police officers, Chicago fire officials said.

Johnson said the officer, 40, is a 16-year Chicago Police veteran in the fugitive apprehension team.

Police: ‘officers were waiting for him’

Investigators examined video footage from the area, which showed Blackman entering a vacant lot in the 6400 block of South Hoyne after the officer’s shooting, but no footage of him leaving, Deenihan said.

When officers went to search the lot, Blackman “popped up” and several officers started firing rounds, Deenihan said. Blackman ran from the lot, crossing the adjacent railroad tracks to the 6400 Block of South Bell Avenue.

“Other officers were waiting for him. The gun battle continued to ensue,” Deenihan said. “The defendant was struck.”

Police investigate Saturday, Sept. 21, 2019 in the block of 6300 S. Bell Ave. after a suspect in the shooting of an officer Saturday and of a woman earlier in the week was himself shot and taken into custody.

Police investigate Saturday, Sept. 21, 2019 in the block of 6300 S. Bell Ave. after a suspect in the shooting of an officer Saturday and of a woman earlier in the week was himself shot and taken into custody.

Kevin Tanaka/For the Sun Times

Blackman was also taken to Christ Medical Center in critical condition, where he was being treated for eight gunshot wounds and a broken femur, Deenihan said.

Caution tape lined the surrounding blocks of the final shootout and about a dozen neighbors crowded under a light rain at the corner of 65th Street and Bell Avenue.

Hollie Latham said she was down the street with a friend who was doing maintenance on her car, when they heard “rapid fire from multiple people.”

Latham said she peeked around her car and saw multiple police officers firing shots and hopping a fence into a lot on Bell Street between 64th and 65th streets.

“It’s been a horrific day. We’ve had police scouring the area and helicopters hovering above for hours,” Latham said. “It’s been sad, hurtful and painful. Criminals make their own laws.”

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Michael Blackman

Chicago police

Blackman has an extensive arrest history going back to 1991, Johnson said. His charges include burglary, battery, domestic battery, criminal trespassing, disorderly conduct, driving on a suspended license and criminal possession of a controlled substance.

Officer stabilized after significant blood loss

Jane Kayle Lee, a trauma surgeon at Christ Medical Center, said the officer arrived in critical condition.

“He came basically bleeding to death. He had already lost a significant amount of blood and was taken ... to the operating room for surgery,” Lee said.

She said medical personnel started blood transfusions and then took him to the emergency room, where surgeons found a bullet wound to his groin and two bullet holes in his lower left leg.

Medical staff treated the officer’s injuries, and he was moved to the intensive care unit, where his condition stabilized, Lee said. He was expected to make a full recovery.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot arrived at the hospital about 11:15 a.m. and met with the officer’s family.

Afterward, she spoke with reporters to thank the officers in the fugitive apprehension team as well as Christ Medical Center staff who helped treat the officer.

“This morning, we were reminded of the sacrifice our officers make every day to protect the residents in the city of Chicago,” Lightfoot said.

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