Investigators have recovered an additional firearm after a robbery suspect undergoing a medical evaluation shot two Chicago police officers guarding him at Swedish Covenant Hospital on Lincoln Square Saturday morning, CPD Supt. said Larry Snelling.
The revelation raises a host of questions to which researchers are carefully trying to find answers. CPD did not name the officers or the suspect.
At a late afternoon news conference, Snelling said a 38-year-old male officer with 10 years on the force was killed and a 57-year-old, 21-year veteran was fighting for his life after the gunman somehow obtained a firearm and shot them around 10:50 a.m. at the hospital, 5140 North California Avenue.
“We do know that a third weapon was recovered,” Snelling revealed, referring to a weapon in addition to the service weapons carried by each of the officers.
“We ask that you keep the families of these officers in your prayers,” Snelling said.
CWB Chicago has learned that at least one man robbed the Family Dollar store at 3239 West Lawrence Avenue in Albany Park shortly after 8 a.m., with initial reports indicating one perpetrator displayed a gun, attacked a woman at an ATM and fled the store with the proceeds.
Some of these proceeds were equipped with a GPS tracker that sent signals to the CPD’s centralized intelligence center, allowing patrol units to quickly locate a suspect in the 3400 block of North Troy Street around 8:25 a.m., sources said.
Officers found someone’s wallet at the Family Dollar, but in radio broadcasts leading up to the shooting they specifically noted that they had not found a firearm. Radio broadcasts show that an officer also requested shackles, which were used to secure prisoners’ legs, for the suspect.
Shortly after his arrest, the suspect claimed to be ill and CPD summoned an ambulance to take him to Swedish Covenant for examination. The two officers who were later shot accompanied him to the hospital.
Endeavor Health, which operates the hospital, said on X that the suspect “was being escorted around [with a metal detector] upon arrival” according to the hospital’s “public safety weapon detection protocols.” The company also said he was “escorted by law enforcement at all times.”
The shooting occurred nearly two hours after the officers and suspect arrived at the hospital.
After the shooting, the suspect, completely naked and with ECG stickers still on his chest, ran into the nearby neighborhood with a firearm, according to a photo shared with CPD officers as the manhunt was underway.
Some residents reported he tried to break into their homes as officers searched the area, eventually finding him in the 2600 block of West Carmen Avenue shortly after noon, according to preliminary information. Investigators found the third firearm at the arrest scene, sources said.
Mayor Brandon Johnson joined Snelling at the afternoon press conference.
“Today is a very difficult moment for our city,” Johnson said. “It’s a tragedy.”
“Our officers stand in the way of harm and risk their lives every day,” Johnson added.
CPD released the following statement:
Preliminary statement on the shooting of two Chicago Police officers in the 2700 block of W. Foster Ave.
CHICAGO – On Saturday, April 25, 2026, at approximately 10:50 a.m., a man was in custody and being treated at Swedish Hospital for an unrelated incident in which he used a firearm to shoot two Chicago Police Department officers assigned to the 17th (Albany Park) Precinct.
The perpetrator ran off and was later arrested. One officer was pronounced at an area hospital. The second officer struck by gunfire remains in critical condition. A firearm was found at the scene. The research team is conducting research.
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