2 in custody after Oak Park officer shot during robbery attempt

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Two persons of interest are in custody after an Oak Park police officer was shot outside his home on Chicago's South Side early Sunday.

Officer Johnny Patterson remains hospitalized Monday afternoon, but is in good spirits, his family said, after warding off an armed intruder at his home.

"He's well. He's getting better," said Johnny Patterson Jr. "The last time I heard him he was trying to stand up and go home."

A relative of Officer Patterson said two men approached the 58-year-old man as he left for work just after 5 a.m. Sunday outside the officer's Fernwood home on the city's Far South Side.

"When I heard the gunshots I ran downstairs and I saw blood in the alley," said Semaj Patterson, the victim's grandson. "I called my grandma and my mom and they ran down."

Officer Patterson was hit in the arm and leg, but managed to wound one of the suspects as he ran away.

"It was a small caliber, so it really kind of sounded like a firecracker," said witness William Daurham.

Moments later, a few blocks away near 99th and Princeton, police stopped a CTA bus and took two people away, one in handcuffs, the other in an ambulance.

"I seen them putting a guy on a stretcher," said neighborhood resident Daquane Holiday. "He apparently looked to be OK, but he was on a stretcher."

According to the Oak Park Police Department, Patterson is a 25-year veteran of the force.

"Our immediate concern is for the well-being of our officer and his recovery from the injuries sustained while he protected himself," Chief Rick Tanksley, Oak Park Police Department, said in a statement.

Sunday afternoon, detectives did not confirm if a Cook County canine unit or the security camera of a nearby business yielded any other clues.

Meanwhile, the family of Officer Patterson is grateful he wasn't killed.

"I hope he takes his time. He'll be fine though," said Johnny Patterson Jr.

Relatives said the wounded officer remains hospitalized in stable condition.

Meanwhile, no charges have been filed and the investigation continues.