Chicago police shoot, critically wound man who opened fire on officers during foot chase

CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago police shot and critically wounded a man after he opened fire on officers while fleeing on foot from a narcotics investigation, police said.

No officers were injured in Saturday’s shooting, but a police squad car responding to the scene flipped over and an officer was hospitalized with reported soreness, interim Chicago police Superintendent Fred Waller said.

Officers had been conducting the investigation at around 6:45 p.m. Saturday in the South Shore neighborhood when the man under investigation ran from them, Waller said.

“After a short foot chase, he turned and fired at the officers. The officers returned fire and shot him in the left flank,” Waller told reporters at the scene. He didn’t specify how many officers fired.

The man suffered critical injuries but his condition stabilized after surgery at a hospital, he said.

Following the shooting, which was captured on body camera video, officers recovered the man’s firearm, the rounds he fired and narcotics, Waller said.

Chicago’s Civilian Office of Police Accountability, which is investigating the use of force, asked any shooting witnesses to share information with the office.

Under Chicago Police Department policy, the officers involved in the shooting will be placed on routine administrative duties for 30 days, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.