An off-duty Chicago police officer opened fire with two guns simultaneously during a Sunday morning altercation in La Villita, leaving two men wounded.
The silence in La Villita was shattered shortly after midnight on Sunday when an off-duty Chicago police officer engaged in a street confrontation that escalated into a multi-scene shooting. By the time the encounter ended. two men were hospitalized and the officer. who fired two weapons simultaneously. had been stripped of his street duties.
Around 12:45 a.m. the officer was driving in the 2600 block of West 24th Street when he encountered a group of people. According to the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA). a verbal exchange began between the officer and a man within that group. The situation turned violent almost immediately; the officer pulled a weapon and fired multiple times.
Following the initial shots, the officer drove to the 2300 block of South Rockwell Street. There, he exited his vehicle and fired additional rounds from two firearms at the same time, directing the gunfire back toward the original site of the confrontation.
Two men were struck during the incident. One man, who sustained two gunshot wounds, was transported to Mount Sinai Hospital in stable condition. He was initially detained by authorities but later released without charges. A second man arrived at Mount Sinai Hospital on his own with a gunshot wound to the arm. Police have not clarified how the second victim was injured or his current status. While the department initially identified the first man as an “aggressor” who allegedly struck the officer in the face. COPA did not include that detail in its subsequent report.
The officer, who was also treated for minor injuries and released from a hospital, has been placed on administrative duties. COPA is leading the investigation into the conduct of the officer, whose identity has not been released. As the investigation proceeds. the lack of clarity regarding the sequence of events—and the conflicting initial reports—remains the central point of tension for the community in La Villita.
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