Three shot trying to detain South Shore burglary suspect
An investigator for the Cook County Medical Examiner's office and two men helping him detain a burglary suspect were shot Wednesday when the suspect's accomplice appeared and opened fire.
The three men were listed in critical condition, police said.
(Brian Jackson/Sun-Times)
A death investigator for the Cook County Medical Examiner's office and two men helping him detain an armed burglary suspect who was inside an apartment building were all shot by an accomplice of the man they were holding early Wednesday in the South Shore neighborhood on the South Side.
All three men were initially in critical condition, police said.
The shooting happened at 12:05 a.m. in the first floor hallway of an apartment building on the 6900 block of South Oglesby Avenue, according to police. Police said two people were inside the building knocking on doors when residents got suspicious.
A source indicated the two suspects allegedly were trying to burglarize the building.
Two residents of the building, 35 and 56, were assisting an employee for the medical examiner's office detain one of the suspects, who was armed, according to a Grand Crossing District police captain.
They recovered the gun but “all of a sudden’’ an accomplice of the detained man came from upstairs and opened fire, striking the three.
The man holding the gun taken from the detained man dropped it and the suspect and his accomplice took the weapon and fled the building , according to the captain.
The medical examiner’s office identified the employee as Anthony King, wholives in the neighborhood where the incident occurred.
King was shot in the abdomen and a 56-year-old resident of the building suffered a gunshot to the left hip, according to the captain. The third victim, a 35-year-old building resident, was shot in the back, the mouth and face and the left shoulder.
King remained in critical condition as of 4:45 a.m., and the other two were in serious but stable condition, according to detectives.
The suspects were not in custody early Wednesday, according to the captain who did not know a motive immediately and said there have been no recent similar problems in the apartment building, which is usually "pretty quiet.''