Gunman opens fire on cop after following him from Bridgeport police station, report says

Police are looking for a driver who followed and then opened fire on a Chicago police officer as he headed home after his shift Sunday, according to a CPD report.

Bullets struck the cop’s truck, but he was not injured, and he did not return fire, according to the document, which was provided to CWBChicago by a source.

According to the investigative document, police said the motive was to “cause bodily harm/death to a police officer.”

The 43-year-old officer, who is assigned to the Bridgeport-based 9th District, left the station at 3120 South Halsted shortly before 4 a.m. and drove out of the parking lot.

Two cars immediately began to follow him and caught his attention as they quickly drove up on him from behind, the report says. The officer turned onto Archer Avenue from 31st Street and noticed the same cars were again approaching quickly from behind.

He tried to evade the vehicles by pulling a U-turn. As soon as he completed the maneuver, the driver of the second car, a light-colored SUV, pulled out a handgun and fired several rounds at him near 3081 South Archer, investigators reported.

Some of the bullets struck the cop’s truck and the two suspect vehicles sped away northbound on Ashland.

Police recovered three shell casings from the scene at Ashland and Archer. A nearby ShotSpotter device, which detects possible gunfire, identified three shots fired, the report says.

The other car that followed the officer is believed to be a dark-colored SUV.

The police department did not notify the media about the incident Sunday. After this story was published, CPD issued a statement in which it confirmed details of the incident but it did not specifically say the victim is a police officer.

Area One detectives are investigating.

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CWBChicago was created in 2013 by five residents of Wrigleyville and Boystown who had grown disheartened with inaccurate information that was being provided at local Community Policing (CAPS) meetings. Our coverage area has expanded since then to cover Lincoln Park, River North, The Loop, Uptown, and other North Side Areas. But our mission remains unchanged: To provide original public safety reporting with better context and greater detail than mainstream media outlets. Our editorial email address is news@cwbchicago.com