An Illinois State Trooper who was shot Friday afternoon on the Dan Ryan Expressway in Chicago has died, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford said the officer was initially taken to an area hospital in critical condition. Further details on what happened weren’t immediately available, but multiple police sources said the shooting appeared to have been self-inflicted.
ISP stated an officer-involved shooting occurred at approximately 1:43 p.m. on the expressway near West 43rd Street, and a trooper was taken to the hospital with serious injuries.
“This incident is in its infancy and no further information is available at this time,” state police added.
The inbound Dan Ryan was closed to traffic as of 2 p.m. between 47th Street and Pershing Road “due to police activity,” officials said.
Chicago’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications reported the expressway’s inbound local lanes were shut down due to a state police investigation and urged commuters to “seek alternate route.”
Inbound express lanes were also shut down between Marquette Road/67th Street and 43rd Street.
The shooting comes one day after Illinois State Police announced they were doubling their patrol presence on expressways amid an increase in shootings starting Friday evening.
That presence, however, was expected during overnight hours, when many of the shootings have taken place.
According to a press release from ISP, state police were increasing their patrol presence by approximately 157% during what it called “peak criminal activity times” on expressways.
That increased presence was set for evenings and on overnight shifts.
Troopers were being relocated from around the state to District Chicago to help with staffing.
Illinois State Police say that there have been at least 185 reported shootings on Chicago expressways so far in 2021, up from 128 that occurred in all of 2020.
from NBC Chicago https://ift.tt/39Wr2Th
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