By Suzie Ziegler
CHICAGO — A police officer who was shot in the head last week was released from the hospital on Monday to cheers and applause from fellow officers, CBS Chicago reported. Officer Fernanda Ballesteros, 27, was attempting a traffic stop when a man shot into her patrol car. Her partner in the passenger seat, who rushed Ballesteros to the hospital, was uninjured.
On Monday, her partner was the one who wheeled Ballesteros out to her homecoming crowd.
“Thank you to Officer Young, my partner who had my back and carried me to safety. I am forever grateful for his quick thinking and swift response. You were my guardian angel that night,” Ballesteros had said from her hospital bed, according to the report.
One of the first people to greet Ballesteros as she left the hospital was Carlos Yanez, Jr., an officer who also survived a gunshot wound to the head. Like Ballesteros, Yanez and his partner were ambushed while attempting a traffic stop in 2021. Yanez’s partner, Ella French, died of her injuries.
Yanez had previously spoken with Ballesteros while she was still hospitalized. John Catanzara, head of the Chicago FOP, said the pair had bonded over their similar experiences.
“It was amazing seeing her,” Yanez told CBS Chicago. “For Fernanda, her standing up and giving me a hug. I can’t even put into words — her strength is my strength.”
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