An Oak Park police officer is in critical condition after being shot while responding to a report of an armed individual leaving a bank Friday morning. According to ABC 7 Chicago, the incident occurred around 9:30 a.m. in the 800 block of Lake Street. The wounded officer has been taken to Loyola University Medical Center.
Authorities were dispatched to the scene following reports of a person brandishing a firearm outside the bank. The circumstances that led to the exchange of gunfire, where the officer and a suspect sustained injuries, have not been made clear. The suspect was reportedly shot in the leg, as per ABC 7 Chicago.
Details on the sequence of events that unfolded resulting in the officer's gunshot wound are sparse. "I was coming back from Target and parked outside on Oak Park Avenue in my car, and I saw police start showing up with their lights on surrounding the park. And then I was looking at my mirror because I could see that was unusual," Natalie Young described her observations before witnessing the unfolding crisis to NBC Chicago. " then saw a person in the park, who seemed to be trying to get away from the incident, run out onto Oak Park Avenue, and that's when I knew something was wrong because there was lots of traffic. And then I opened my car door and I heard the gunshots."
The investigation into the shooting remains active, with law enforcement continuing to piece together the events that led to this confrontation.
