By Sarah Schulte, ABC7 News - Chicago
Berwyn, Ill. - Two off duty Chicago police officers were involved in a shooting outside a west suburban bar. One person is in custody, and police are searching for others. It happened at a bar near 16th and Home in Berwyn.
Police have a 24-year-old in custody that they say has an extensive criminal record. Officers are now looking for three more suspects. In all, there were four men who had a shootout with two off-duty Chicago police officers.
Despite the amount of gunfire exchanged, there was only one minor injury.
The shell casings were spread out all over a Berwyn alley Sunday morning as residents woke up to gunfire in what is known as a normally quiet neighborhood.
“I heard various guns fire, shots and I heard screaming and that’s what woke me u,” said one neighbor.
The shootout began when a man wandered into the “Fuggedaboudit” bar in Berwyn. The bar was closed for a private birthday party. The man was told to leave and was escorted out.
“Which he must have taken some offense because it appears he went and got some of his friends to come back and wait outside until the bar was emptying out,” said Supt.Frank Marzulla of the Berwyn Police Department.
Berwyn police say in all four people were waiting outside the bar, including Jonas Haro, and 24-year-old Joseph Ayala who is now in police custody. Two off-duty Chicago police officers who were patrons of the party confronted the four men outside of the bar.
“The Chicago police officers went outside obviously for the safety of the rest of the patrons walking outside as the bar was closing and they got into a further confrontation with them with words or whatever and that’s when it escalated to the shooting incident,” Marzulla said.
Berwyn police say it is legal for Chicago police officers to carry their weapons while off duty, and they say those two off-duty Chicago police officers did act within the law.