Chicago man charged in shooting of off-duty Merrionette Park police officer on way to work

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A Chicago man has been charged with attempted murder in the shooting of an off-duty Merrionette Park police officer on Chicago's South Side while she was driving to work Saturday.

Darreon Thompson, 24, was arrested on the scene 30 minutes after the shooting, Chicago police said Monday. Police said he was one of the suspects involved in the shooting.

"Officer Robinson," 51, was driving to work in the 2300-block of East 103rd Street about 5:30 p.m. when someone in a white Chevy sedan kept trying to stop her, while keeping her vehicle from passing him, police said.

That's when a weapon was pointed at the driver's side of the officer's vehicle, and a number of rounds were fired, police said.

The other car then crashed into another vehicle. A passenger got out and continued shooting at the officer.

Chicago police said the officer fired back, also hitting the suspected shooter.

RELATED: River North shooting: 4 shot, 1 fatally, outside nightclub, Chicago police say

The officer was struck in the neck and taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where she was treated for a superficial wound and released.

A good Samaritan helped the officer and was shot in the legs, police said.

The 43-year-old bystander was also taken to University of Chicago. He is expected to be OK.

"I saw the stretcher for the ambulance [and] someone was lying on the stretcher going into the ambulance," said a witness who didn't want to be identified.

The witness is a woman who's lived in the neighborhood for 54 years and preferred not to show her face, but said she is shocked at what she saw just outside her door.

"It was a lot of commotion, a lot of ambulances, cars, police and stuff," she said. "It's really sad to hear what's going on. Every day you hear just so much crime."

It's unclear what led to this shooting but police said one person is now in custody.

The video in the player above is from an earlier report.