CHICAGO — A police officer was wounded during a shooting near a Chicago hospital Monday afternoon, according to police. Anthony Guglielmi, a Chicago police spokesman, said on Twitter the officer was in critical condition and receiving treatment.
Guglielmi said officers are doing a methodical search of Mercy Hospital & Medical Center on Chicago’s South Side. He tweeted earlier that at least one possible offender had been shot and that police were responding to reports of multiple victims.
A massive law enforcement presence was seen on the campus and medical staff were seen being evacuated. Guglielmi urged citizens to avoid the area.
Witness Hector Avitia told CBS Chicago he was inside the hospital waiting for test results for his wife when he saw a gunman outside in the parking lot, dressed in black, fire on someone on the ground multiple times.
Avitia said an officer arrived on the scene in an SUV and the gunman fired at the officer. He said he saw the gunman reload, fire again at the person on the ground and then go inside the hospital where more shots were fired.
He said the gunman was carrying a handgun with multiple clips.
Witness Steve White told CBS Chicago he was waiting in the emergency room when he saw the gunman outside firing on a person on the ground, who he described as a woman wearing hospital scrubs. He said the gunman ran inside, and he could hear more shots fired.
“Why would you go in a hospital and kill some innocent people, man?” White said. “I’ve never seen anything like this in my life.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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