Cops Waiting at Hot Dog Stand Downed in Surprise Hail of Bullets, But Suspect Wasn't Expecting a Nearby Undercover Officer to Notice
The ongoing street violence against law enforcement took an unexpected turn in Chicago on Friday, when a man who turned a gun on police failed to reckon with a nearby undercover officer.
The incident left two Chicago police officers wounded with non-life-threatening injuries and the suspected gunman arrested, according to the Chicago Tribune.
The incident began at about 3:30 a.m. as a police officer waited in line at the Original Maxwell Street hot dog stand on West Harrison Street, Police Superintendent David Brown said, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
“The offender had ordered his food and was in line in front of the officer,” Brown said. “The offender reached in his pocket to pay for his order, a gun fell out of the offender’s waistband.”
“The officer noticed the gun falling out, but before they could take action, the offender grabbed the gun, picked it up and began immediately shooting at the officers,” Brown said.
One officer immediately called for assistance.
“I got shot in the head, I got shot in the head. Dropped an extended clip right in front of me, picked it up, shot me, graze wound in the right side of my head and my partner was shot in the leg,” the officer called out on his radio.
Next came three shots into the driver’s side of a police car, hitting the officer inside in the leg, Brown said.
“They were really…..ambushed.”
Two Chicago police officers were shot early Friday morning in Lawndale.
FULL STORY: https://t.co/RGnUQUuEiW pic.twitter.com/GP1yvkeVN3
— CBS Chicago (@cbschicago) March 4, 2022
“It was really a bang-bang moment,” Brown said.
The gunshots attracted the attention of an undercover officer, who then chased the suspect.
The man was apprehended after a few blocks and after more police joined in the pursuit.
Brown said that the weapon used in the shooting was tossed, but was recovered.
He said the officers, who were on a break, did not have time to draw their weapons or turn on their bodycams.
The two officers “were really ambushed,” Brown said.
“When the offender dropped the gun, before they could react, he began shooting, so they had no time to react. They were wounded and the offender fled, and thank God for that undercover officer nearby and officers were running around after this offender before he could escape,” he said.
The suspect, identified as Kailo Harris-Caldwell, was charged Saturday with two counts of attempted first-degree murder and drug offense, according to WFLD-TV in Chicago.
Early this morning, two of our 11th district officers were ambushed and shot in the 3800 block of West Harrison. Thankfully they only sustained non-life-threatening injuries. Please keep these officers and their families and all CPD officers in your prayers.
— Chicago Police Superintendent David O. Brown (@ChiefDavidBrown) March 4, 2022
“This is a stark reminder of at every hour of every day the men and women this department put their lives on the line,” Brown said, according to CNN.
“And it’s another call to action to all of us to get guns off the streets of Chicago and out of the hands of individuals who should not have them. Acts of senseless violence cannot be the norm in our city.”
“May the good Lord bless the men and women of the Chicago Police Department. They work tirelessly to risk everything for all of our safety,” Brown said.
“We should give them a real big ‘thank you’ this morning and please, prayers for them and their families as they go through this process.”
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