By Suzie Ziegler
CHICAGO — A female Chicago police officer who was shot in the head Wednesday during a traffic stop remains in serious but stable condition, ABC 7 reported. A hunt is now underway for two suspects who police say pulled alongside a marked cruiser and fired at the two officers inside. The shot officer’s male partner, who was not injured, rushed her to the hospital, police said.
The incident has drawn comparisons to the traffic stop shooting that killed Chicago officer Ella French and seriously wounded French’s partner, Carlos Yanez, in 2021. Yanez lost an eye and was partially paralyzed.
Yanez spoke with the wounded officer from her hospital bed via Zoom on Thursday, said John Catanzara, president of the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police.
“They had a nice heart-to-heart,” Catanzara told ABC 7. “I think it’s probably a situation that only the two of them can even understand. There aren’t too many officers who have been shot in the head and survived.”
Catanzara says the wounded officer is alert and awake, but she will need surgery to remove bullet fragments from her neck, according to ABC 7. The officer has not yet been named, but police said she is 27 years old and has been on the job for three years, CBS Chicago reported.
Few details about the suspects were immediately released. Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown identified one of the suspects as a 28-year-old man who has a history of gun violence, according to ABC 7.