1 Chicago police officer killed, another wounded when suspect transported for treatment opens fire at hospital, officials say
Police officers work outside Endeavor Health Swedish Hospital in Lincoln Square on Saturday
(CNN) — One Chicago police officer was fatally shot and another critically wounded Saturday by a robbery suspect they were escorting inside a hospital, Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling said Saturday.
It’s unclear how the suspect, who the hospital said was screened with a metal detection wand on entry and was escorted by law enforcement throughout the facility, was able to get a firearm. The superintendent said, “It’s still under investigation.”
The alleged shooter was able to flee the scene and reportedly entered a private home several blocks away, according to CNN affiliate WBBM.
Police and SWAT teams quickly surrounded the house and the suspect was taken into custody, according to WBBM. A “third weapon” was also recovered, Snelling said.
The officers were transferred to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center a few miles away, where one was pronounced dead and the other is “fighting for his life,” Snelling said.
The shooting took place at Endeavor Health’s Swedish Hospital, which was placed under lockdown. The campus remains closed “while law enforcement leads the investigation,” Endeavor Health stated. Patients and team members at the hospital are safe.
The incident began when the suspect was brought into the emergency department for treatment, according to Endeavor Health Swedish Hospital. He was screened with a metal detection wand when he arrived and accompanied by law enforcement, a hospital spokesperson said.
Asked how the suspect obtained a firearm, the superintendent said, “I can’t get too deep into it.”
The suspect had been originally taken into custody for a suspected robbery, he added. He was transported to the hospital for “observation,” according to Snelling.
Authorities have not publicly identified the two officers, pending notification of their families. The officer killed was 38 years old and had spent 10 years with the department, while the officer injured is 57 years old and spent 21 years with the department, according to the superintendent.
Snelling decried “the senseless loss of life of an officer who is out attempting to protect the city.”
“These are the dangers of policing,” he said. “These officers know it, they understand it, but they still go out and they do it.”
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson called the shooting a “tragedy” and thanked Chicago police officers “for showing up every single day for the people of this city.”
This story has been updated with additional information.
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CNN’s Graham Hurley contributed to this report.
