CHICAGO, IL - A police officer with the Chicago Police Department (DPD) and an armed teenager were both struck by a bullet when a gun discharged as police tried to take it from the teen.
According to CBS News, the incident happened at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, October 3rd, when officers performed an investigatory stop on a 16-year-old boy in the 5600 block of South Shields Avenue. During the stop, officers found that the teen had a gun and when they tried to take the handgun from the front of the boy's waistband, the gun discharged.
Police Superintendent Larry Snelling said that the 16-year-old was shot in the groin area and the same bullet struck the officer in the leg, leaving a through-and-through wound. Snelling said that neither the officer nor the teen fired any shot deliberately. The officer that was shot was brought to the University of Chicago Medical Center in a police vehicle. In response to the shooting, there was a very large police presence outside of the medical center in Hyde Park.
The teen was taken to Stroger Hospital of Cook County and according to Snelling, both the officer and the teen are in good condition. Snelling said that the incident was yet another example of the dangers officers face when confronting armed suspects. He said, "It's an extremely dangerous job. When we look at people who are armed with weapons, every one of those encounters has the potential to end with deadly force, on either side, on both sides."
While outside of the University of Chicago Medical Center Mayor Brandon Johnson also addressed the incident. He said, "This is yet another example of why it's important that law enforcement has all the tools it needs in order to provide the type of safety and security that the people of Chicago deserve, and it also is more evidence of why critical investments in this moment for our young people is crucial to building a better, stronger, safer Chicago."
According to ABC7, at the press conference outside the medical center, Johnson also said, "The job that our law enforcement does every single day requires a great deal of bravery and courage, and we're grateful for that, you know, and we have too many people who have access to guns, and that's something that is a not just citywide problem, but a national problem."
The shooting happened just steps from Jesse Sherwood Elementary School. It is not clear whether the school ever went on lockdown after the incident, but many teachers at the school found their cars parked within the crime scene perimeter and had to move them. Snelling said that police were able to review body camera footage of the incident and that detectives and the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) are investigating the shooting.
In a statement, COPA said, "COPA was notified and responded to the scene of an officer-involved incident that resulted in the discharge of a weapon in the 5600 block of South Shields and initiated a preliminary investigation." The officer that was shot has been with CPD since 2018 and is expected to make a full recovery. Snelling said, "We have to make sure that we get the message out for people to cooperate with officers, but we also have to get the message out to let everybody understand the danger that officers are facing every day when they encounter armed individuals."
ABC7 reported that the father of the 16-year-old is speaking out, saying that his son did not shoot at police. Scott Gracey said that he is still shocked at what unfolded and that his son, Marcus Gracey, had wrapped up home school for the day at noon the day of the incident. Gracey said, "He was walking with a pistol. I don't know why he was and as a father, I will take care of that because I don't allow that. But he was walking with the pistol and police grabbed it out of his waistband and it went off."
Gracey said that this should not have happened and that he believes his son had no intention of shooting an officer. He said, "Yeah, he had a gun and stuff and he should go to jail for that. I get that. But should he be shot? I don't think so."
According to CBS News, the incident happened at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, October 3rd, when officers performed an investigatory stop on a 16-year-old boy in the 5600 block of South Shields Avenue. During the stop, officers found that the teen had a gun and when they tried to take the handgun from the front of the boy's waistband, the gun discharged.
Police Superintendent Larry Snelling said that the 16-year-old was shot in the groin area and the same bullet struck the officer in the leg, leaving a through-and-through wound. Snelling said that neither the officer nor the teen fired any shot deliberately. The officer that was shot was brought to the University of Chicago Medical Center in a police vehicle. In response to the shooting, there was a very large police presence outside of the medical center in Hyde Park.
The teen was taken to Stroger Hospital of Cook County and according to Snelling, both the officer and the teen are in good condition. Snelling said that the incident was yet another example of the dangers officers face when confronting armed suspects. He said, "It's an extremely dangerous job. When we look at people who are armed with weapons, every one of those encounters has the potential to end with deadly force, on either side, on both sides."
While outside of the University of Chicago Medical Center Mayor Brandon Johnson also addressed the incident. He said, "This is yet another example of why it's important that law enforcement has all the tools it needs in order to provide the type of safety and security that the people of Chicago deserve, and it also is more evidence of why critical investments in this moment for our young people is crucial to building a better, stronger, safer Chicago."
According to ABC7, at the press conference outside the medical center, Johnson also said, "The job that our law enforcement does every single day requires a great deal of bravery and courage, and we're grateful for that, you know, and we have too many people who have access to guns, and that's something that is a not just citywide problem, but a national problem."
The shooting happened just steps from Jesse Sherwood Elementary School. It is not clear whether the school ever went on lockdown after the incident, but many teachers at the school found their cars parked within the crime scene perimeter and had to move them. Snelling said that police were able to review body camera footage of the incident and that detectives and the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) are investigating the shooting.
In a statement, COPA said, "COPA was notified and responded to the scene of an officer-involved incident that resulted in the discharge of a weapon in the 5600 block of South Shields and initiated a preliminary investigation." The officer that was shot has been with CPD since 2018 and is expected to make a full recovery. Snelling said, "We have to make sure that we get the message out for people to cooperate with officers, but we also have to get the message out to let everybody understand the danger that officers are facing every day when they encounter armed individuals."
ABC7 reported that the father of the 16-year-old is speaking out, saying that his son did not shoot at police. Scott Gracey said that he is still shocked at what unfolded and that his son, Marcus Gracey, had wrapped up home school for the day at noon the day of the incident. Gracey said, "He was walking with a pistol. I don't know why he was and as a father, I will take care of that because I don't allow that. But he was walking with the pistol and police grabbed it out of his waistband and it went off."
Gracey said that this should not have happened and that he believes his son had no intention of shooting an officer. He said, "Yeah, he had a gun and stuff and he should go to jail for that. I get that. But should he be shot? I don't think so."
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