Off-duty Chicago police officer ambushed, shot in Calumet Heights
2nd Chicago police officer shot in the last 24 hours
CHICAGO (WLS) -- Chicago police are searching for at least two gunmen who ambushed an off-duty officer and shot him in the abdomen as he sat in his Jeep in the city's Calumet Heights neighborhood Monday.
The officer was stopped at a traffic light in the 8900-block of South Stony Island Avenue while off-duty in his personal vehicle at about 12:21 p.m. when the suspects pulled up behind and alongside the vehicle and fired shots inside, wounding the officer in the lower torso, Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown said.
Shotspotter alerted tactical teams who responded to the scene and transported the officer to the University of Chicago Medical Center.
Doctors said the 32-year-old officer underwent surgery Monday afternoon and is now in fair condition.
"He remained stable throughout the entire case, and he's currently doing well," said Dr. Susan Rowell, a trauma surgeon at University of Chicago Medical Center.
Supt. David Brown said thanks to the quick actions of three female officers, he was able to get help quickly.
"Without their intervention and quick thinking to get him transported as quickly as possible, they got him into surgery and likely saved his life," Brown said.
WATCH | Supt. Brown speaks after off-duty CPD officer shot
"We heard some rumors about a carjacking. We don't know at this point," Supt. David Brown said. "Circumstances suggest several different narratives of what this might be, could be a misidentification, and it could be road rage, could be carjacking. We just don't know, it's too early to tell given the circumstances."
There are several businesses in the area that may have captured the incident on surveillance video. Police said they are also looking to see if anything was captured on city security pod cameras.
"Unfortunately this event reminds us of the dangers that our officers face every single day, whether on or off duty," Mayor Lightfoot said.
The wounded officer has been with the department for four years and works out of the 4th District. Supt. Brown described him as hard-working and well-liked by his colleagues.
"It's been an outpouring of offers," Supt. Brown said. "We really had to, really put the stop sign up because obviously people kept coming, kept coming."
This officer is the second Chicago police officer to be shot and wounded within 24 hours.
On Sunday, a Chicago police sergeant suffered a graze wound after he was shot at in the parking lot of the Gresham police station.
RELATED: Police search for shooting after CPD sergeant shot outside 6th District station
The sergeant suffered a graze wound and was taken to Christ Medical Center in good condition for treatment, according to officials. The sergeant was released from the hospital later Sunday evening.
"It just highlights the dangers. We all need to be aware of our surroundings. We need to have real consequences for offenders when we capture them," Superintendent Brown said at a press conference Monday afternoon.
No suspects are in custody. Area Two detectives are investigating.
