A Lynwood police officer was wounded in a shooting early Saturday morning while responding to a fatal shooting in suburban Ford Heights, authorities said.
According to the Cook County Sheriff’s Office, officers responded to a shooting shortly after 3 a.m. in Ford Heights at the site of a large gathering near the intersection of Woodlawn Avenue and Ambassador Lane.
Upon arrival, officers aided a man who had been wounded in the aforementioned shooting. The man was later taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead, Chief Leo Schmitz said.
Due to the large crowd on scene, police officers from numerous jurisdictions were called to respond to the shooting. During this time, shots were fired at police, striking one Lynwood police officer in the shoulder, Schmitz said.
“While our officers were on scene along with other officers that we called in from local jurisdictions since there was a large crowd, there were shots fired at the police.”
Schmitz said police did return fire, however no one else was struck. There is no lockdown or threat to the general public in that area.
“Our officers tended to him, gave him some medical aid. And our officers had returned some fire. Nobody else was hit,” Schmitz said.
The officer was taken to Franciscan Health Munster in Munster, Indiana, where they were treated and later released, officials said.
Authorities said the incident does not appear to be domestic in nature and that an investigation into the shooting is in “very preliminary stages.”
There is currently no further information available.