The suspect, Robert S. McFadin, 31, of Granville, later fatally shot himself, said Bureau County Corner Janice Wamhoff.
Authorities declined to name the officer injured Saturday, but family and friends identified him as Thomas Quartucci, 51. He was being treated Sunday at a Spring Valley hospital. A hospital spokeswoman declined to give his condition, but Spring Valley Police Chief Douglas Bernabei has said his injuries were not life-threatening.
Bernabei praised the officer, saying his actions were in line with police training.
Quartucci “was calm enough to radio for assistance,” Bernabei said. “He survived, but not before making sure the dispatcher was out ahead of him.”
Spring Valley is a town of about 5,300, about 100 miles west of Chicago.
McFadin was arrested Saturday morning for drunken driving and was released after posting bond. Police began searching for him after he allegedly confronted his estranged wife, who had filed a protection order against him, Bernabei said.
McFadin turned himself in and while at the police station, took Quartucci’s gun and attacked him. Quartucci and the dispatcher were able to make it to safety. One other person was inside the center at the time, but she was not injured.
Authorities later found McFadin dead of a gunshot wound, officials said.
Quartucci has been an officer for more than 20 years, his uncle Alfred Quartucci said. “He’s a well-liked officer,” he said. “I’m relieved that he’s alive.”
There have been a few recent fatal incidents in which inmates or suspects attacked officers.
Last Sunday, a Providence, R.I., detective was killed with his own gun at police headquarters by a suspect who was not handcuffed and managed to get hold of the weapon.
In March, a defendant in a rape trial in Atlanta allegedly overpowered a court deputy and took her gun, then killed the judge presiding over his case, a court reporter, a deputy outside the courthouse and a federal customs agent.
The suspects in both incidents have been charged with murder.
On Thursday in Augusta, Ga., hospital police shot and killed an inmate who fled a medical building after overpowering a state corrections officer and taking his gun, authorities said.
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