Two police officers shot at Chicago hospital, one in critical condition

A suspect was taken into custody after a shooting inside a Chicago hospital left one police officer dead and another critically injured on Saturday morning, law enforcement sources said.

Police took the suspect to the hospital to be checked out before going to jail for a separate offense before the shooting broke out, police sources told NBC Chicago.

One of the officers was shot in the head, sources said. Both were taken to a different area hospital, where one was later pronounced dead. Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling said the officer who died was 38 years old and a 10-year veteran of the force.

The other officer, who is 57 years old and a 21-year CPD veteran, was initially listed in critical condition.

“Today is a real difficult moment for our city. It’s a tragedy,” Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said at a news briefing. “You know, our officers stand in the way of harm every single day…They have family that expect them to come home. One of our officers will not be able to return to their family.”

A manhunt for the suspect ensued, with authorities swarming the hospital and the nearby area. Alderman Andre Vasquez asked residents in the surrounding area to shelter in place amid the manhunt.

The suspect was taken into custody around noon, authorities said.

Endeavor Health Swedish Hospital was placed on lockdown after the shooting. The lockdown was lifted by 2 p.m., but the hospital remained closed.

Endeavor Health said the suspect was brought in for treatment around 9 a.m. and was scanned for weapons upon arrival, in accordance with the hospital’s public safety weapon detection protocols.

The suspect was “escorted by law enforcement at all times” while in the hospital before escaping after the shooting, Endeavor said in a statement around 1:30 p.m. “No team members or patients were physically harmed as a result of this incident. The safety of our patients and team members remains our top priority.”

“This is a horrible situation all around. Hoping the staff and those present at Swedish Covenant Hospital are also okay,” said Alderman Gilbert Villegas in a post on social media.

Police blocked the streets surrounding the hospital as authorities investigated.

“Like everybody out here, we want to know what’s happening, we want to find out,” Ald. Vasquez said at the scene. “But we also want to make sure we’re giving all the associated parties, the officers, the hospital, anyone out here now, the liberty and latitude to do the work that’s necessary to make sure folks walk away safely from what has occurred and that we get the information necessary to make sure justice is served and we have information on what may need to be improved as far as protocol.”

Handfuls of neighbors came outside to see what was going on as officers flocked to the area.

Vavid Stevens, a resident who lives on the block of the hospital, said he heard “a bunch of commotion going on” and looked out his window to see “more and more police cruisers coming by” his house.

Then, his mom called him, he said. She told him to come outside because she’d “never seen anything like” what was going on.

Stevens said his mom described to him seeing police officers with guns drawn—a sight he said people are not used to seeing in his “quiet” neighborhood.

“It’s horrible to know that something like this happened,” Steven said. “It’s a very grim situation.”

Steven said his mom also expressed concern and fear knowing the suspect ran into the neighborhood and officers were hunting for him with guns drawn.

“There’s countless officers out here at the scene, so that speaks volumes to what happened,” another neighbor said. “I mean, they’re everywhere.”

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