The injured officer was on Chicago Police Department's mobile strike force, a four-year veteran. That officer was shot in the knee and was treated and released from an area hospital. The suspected offender in the case, however, is dead. He has been identified as Jerome Williams, 27, of Chicago's South Side.
Gunfire erupted shortly after 8 p.m. Monday during an alleged robbery at a Family Dollar store near 63rd Street and Ashland.
The shooting sent people running for safety.
"Me and my cousin were on our way to this corner store over here called 509 when the shots rang out. We turned back around, and within five or 15 minutes since we came back, the place was swamped. I just don't know. That's ridiculous. They say he was trying to rob them," witness Camiya Spruell said.
According to police, a gunman was attempting to hold up the business while a special police task force happened to be patrolling nearby. Those officers received the emergency call from the store and arrived while the alleged robbery was still in progress.
"Upon arrival, they were told that the offender was still on the scene. As they entered the store, they were confronted with the armed offender," said the Chicago Police Department's James Jackson.
That confrontation reportedly led to a shootout inside the store. Police say one of the officers opened fire on the gunman after he first pointed a gun at them. After the shooting ended, the suspect was dead, and the officer had suffered the wound to his knee.
Investigators say they recovered a gun at the scene.
Police had not released the identity of the officer who was shot early Tuesday.
No one else was injured.
