CHICAGO — An off-duty Michigan police officer shot himself in the hand and injured another person while handling his firearm in a River North hotel room on Saturday afternoon. Chicago police initially said the out-of-town officer was in custody with charges pending. But the department later said he is not in custody and the case is considered accidental.
The 23-year-old was handling his weapon inside a 12th-floor room at the Hotel Chicago, 333 North Dearborn when it fired around 3:10 p.m., a police report said. The bullet struck his left hand and traveled into the stomach of a 25-year-old man who was also in the room, according to CPD.
EMS transported both men to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in fair condition, Chicago police said.
Investigators recovered two guns at the scene. The hotel is located near the House of Blues in the Marina City complex.
The men are the eighth and ninth people shot on the Near North Side this year. By comparison, there were 29 shooting victims on the Near North Side at this point last year, including nine shot during a single event outside the Chicago Red Line station.
They are the sixth and seventh people shot in River North this year. The neighborhood had eight shooting victims as of this date last year.