COPA investigates shooting involving CPD officer near scene of smash-and-grab on Northwest Side

CHICAGO — An investigation by Chicago’s Office of Police Accountability (COPA) is underway on Thursday morning after a CPD officer opened fire on a group of apparent thieves after he was hit by one of their vehicles as they fled the scene of an early morning smash-and-grab on the Northwest Side.

Chicago police say the incident unfolded just before 4:30 a.m. at a GameStop located in the 2900 block of West Addison Street, in Avondale, shortly after officers noticed multiple armed offenders burglarizing the business.

As officers approached the scene, an unknown number of thieves got into two vehicles, a white Chrysler sedan and a red Jeep SUV, that were waiting nearby and attempted to flee the scene, but during the flee attempt, officers said the suspected thieves in one of the cars struck one of the responding officers.

Shortly after being hit, the officer opened fire on the vehicle that hit him before additional officers began pursuing the vehicles.

The chase came to an end, however, after officers got into a crash with an unrelated vehicle and the suspects got away.

The officer who opened fire was later hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries and there were no reports of anyone struck by gunfire.

Additionally, no one was injured in the crash that unfolded during the chase.

SkyCam 9 was over the scene around 6:30 a.m. when the shop could be seen from overhead with significant damage to the front window and door.

In an update shared on Thursday morning, officials from COPA said they are now investigating the shooting.

According to CPD, the officer involved in the shooting will be placed on routine administrative duties for a minimum of 30 days.

Chicago police said the Investigative Response Team and COPA are investigating the incident.

Those with information on the shooting can contact COPA on their website or by calling 312-746-3609.