Associated Press
CHICAGO — A Chicago police officer shot an armed man who entered a police station on the city’s West Side “ranting” anti-law enforcement statements on Wednesday, just days after an officer shot a man who infiltrated another police facility and pointed guns at officers, a department spokesman said.
Police Superintendent David Brown said during a news conference that the man walked into the lobby of the Ogden District station shortly before 1 p.m. holding a plastic bag with what appeared to be the barrel of a gun sticking out of it.
Brown said the man was “ranting anti-police sentiments,” and that when officers told him to drop the weapon, the man instead pointed it at officers, prompting approximately three of them to open fire. Brown said the man was shot at least once in the shoulder. The department said his injuries are not considered life-threatening.
Department spokesman Tom Ahern said in a tweet that the man was taken to a hospital in stable condition and that his gun was recovered at the scene. Brown said detectives had not yet determined the man’s identity, saying he has been uncooperative.
The shooting occurred a little more than a week after 47-year-old Donald Patrick of Waukegan was shot by police after he climbed a fire escape of another West Side station, entered the building, grabbed handguns off a table and allegedly pointed them at officers who were undergoing SWAT training.
Patrick was arrested and charged with burglary and aggravated assault of an officer using a firearm. He remains in jail.
Brown said the department is examining what it can do to beef up security at police stations in the city. But he also said the department has to make sure that police facilities remain open to allow citizens to come in to make reports and talk to officers.
NEXT: Defend the house: Protecting police buildings and personnel