3 undercover officers shot, wounded in Chicago
CHICAGO — Three undercover law enforcement officers were shot and wounded Wednesday morning while driving onto an expressway on Chicago’s South Side, and detectives were questioning a “person of interest” about the shooting, police said.
The shooting occurred at 5:50 a.m. near the 22nd District police station in the city’s Morgan Park neighborhood. The three were in an unmarked undercover vehicle on their way to an assignment when they were shot, Chicago police Superintendent David Brown told reporters.
Two of the officers are agents from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and one is a Chicago officer, Brown said. Their injuries were not considered lifethreatening. A department spokesman said a person of interest was in custody and being questioned by detectives. He did not provide any other details.
A Justice Department spokesperson said Attorney General Merrick Garland was briefed on the shooting and aboard Air Force One on the president’s flight to Chicago, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the administration was also “monitoring the situation in coordination with the Department of Justice and ATF.”
When Air Force One landed, Biden spoke with Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, expressing his personal support for the officers who were shot. He reiterated his commitment to working with the mayor and leaders in Chicago in the fight against gun violence and conveyed that the Department of Justice would soon be in touch about the strike force announced just a few weeks ago that will be working with Chicago and other cities.
“I will note, in terms of efforts the president has under way to address the rise in violence we’ve seen over the last 18 months, including in Chicago, there are a number of steps that impact Chicago directly,” Psaki told reporters before Air Force One landed.
The shootings come a day after police reported that 100 people were shot in Chicago — including two police officers who were wounded while trying to break up a crowd — over the long Fourth of July weekend.