CHICAGO — The 23-year-old gunman who shot a man in West Rogers Park Saturday morning returned to the scene and engaged Chicago police officers in a two-and-a-half-minute shootout, officials said. The shooter was hospitalized with gunshot wounds and the first victim was treated and released, but no other injuries were reported, according to CPD.
Police initially responded around 9:35 a.m. to a call of a person shot in the 2700 block of West Farwell. Witnesses reported that a 39-year-old man was walking on the sidewalk when a gunman wearing a brightly colored safety vest opened fire on him from behind.
The gunman fled the scene after the shooting, but police found a safety vest that had been discarded in the area a short time later.
While police and firefighters were dealing with the situation, the gunman returned to the area and began shooting. One bullet struck a Chicago Fire Department ambulance. Officers returned fired.
For more than two minutes, the man showed up at several locations to fire rounds toward first responders, CPD Chief of Detectives Kevin Bruno said during an evening news conference. At one point during the shootout, gunfire was heard on the local police radio channel as an officer attempted to provide information from the scene.
Police eventually neutralized the gunman and then switched to life-saving mode, applying a tourniquet and other life-saving techniques to stabilize his condition. Bruno reported that the man had suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was in critical condition. The deputy chief repeatedly declined to comment on rumors that the gunman targeted the initial victim because he was Jewish.
About an hour before Bruno spoke, as a precaution, investigators brought a bomb-sniffing dog to examine a car in the 2700 block of West Morse.
The police shooting aspect of the incident is being investigated by COPA, the Civilian Office of Police Accountability.
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