By Quinn Ford and Peter Nickeas
Chicago Tribune
CHICAGO — An off-duty Oak Park police officer was shot early Sunday on Chicago’s South Side, according to authorities.
A family member said the 58-year-old officer was leaving for work when he was approached by two males armed with a gun in the alleyway behind his home in the 300 block of West 103rd Place.
The shooting happened at 5:13 a.m., said Officer Stacey Cooper, a spokeswoman for the Chicago Police Department.
There was an exchange of gunfire — five or six shots — and the officer was hit in his arm and leg, said the officer’s grandson, 19-year-old Semaj Patterson.
“I knew it was him. I knew it was my grandfather because he leaves for work every morning at 5 in the morning,” Patterson said.
Patterson said he ran down to the alleyway while his grandmother called police. He said his grandfather was alert and talking.
“He said he was all right. I just held him up because I saw he was shot in the leg,” Patterson said. "(He’s) always been a tough guy.”
Police said two offenders came up on the officer in his garage, which is in the alley. At least one of them was armed and they tried to pat down the officer.
During the pat down, they discovered that the officer may be carrying a gun. As a result, the officer and at least one of the offenders exchanged gunfire.
Chicago police believe this may have been a robbery or carjacking attempt.
The gunmen fled the scene, and the officer was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, Patterson said. A short time later, police said two people were taken into custody in the 9900 block of South Princeton Avenue.
One person was taken away in an ambulance, and the other was taken away in handcuffs in an unmarked police car. The offender who was shot is a 17-year-old boy, and was treated and released from the hospital and is in police custody.
The victim is related to a Chicago police officer, according to family.
The wounded officer, a 25-year veteran of the force, is in stable condition, according to a statement released by Oak Park police.
“Our immediate concern is for the well-being of our officer and his recovery from the injuries sustained while he protected himself,” said Oak Park Police Chief Rick Tanksley in the statement. “We have chosen not to release additional information about the officer or the crime, since he is a victim in an ongoing Chicago Police Department investigation.”
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