CHICAGO – New details have emerged about a police shooting that injured a man at a bar in Brighton Park last weekend. The information comes as prosecutors charge the man, 36-year-old Fernando Guzman, with attempted murder and other crimes, saying he fired a gun at Chicago police before an officer fired back, hitting him in the head.
Guzman, 36, remained in hospital while the charges were presented before Judge William Fahy at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse.
Prosecutors said officers responded to a bar in the 3900 block of South Kedzie around 12:20 a.m. Saturday to deal with a “person with a firearm.” Police were told a man wearing a construction vest pointed a gun at someone.
When they arrived, officers approached Guzman and asked him if he had a gun because someone pointed officers at him and he matched the description, officials said.
Guzman brandished the firearm and one of the officers tried to disarm him, prosecutors said in an arrest request. During the altercation, Guzman fired a shot at an officer, and another officer at the scene returned fire, striking Guzman in the left side of the head, the petition said.
Prosecutors said the bar’s security cameras and the officers’ body cameras recorded the incident.
Guzman is charged with attempted first-degree murder, aggravated assault on a peace officer and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon. Judge Fahy ordered him to remain in custody until he leaves the hospital and a judge can review the state’s detention request.
Court records show Guzman was charged in 2015 with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and unlawful use of a firearm, but a judge found him not guilty at trial.
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