University of Chicago police officer shoots gunman who opened fire in Hyde Park

Evidence markers are seen near police officers standing near the intersection of East 53rd Street and South Woodlawn Avenue in the Hyde Park neighborhood, Tuesday afternoon, Jan. 18, 2022, after University of Chicago Police shot a man late Tuesday morning, according to the Chicago Fire Department. | Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

An officer had stopped to investigate someone on foot with a handgun near the corner of 53rd Street and Woodlawn Avenue, officials said.

A University of Chicago police officer shot and wounded a gunman who opened fire in Hyde Park late Tuesday morning, officials said.

An officer had stopped to investigate someone on foot with a handgun near the corner of 53rd Street and Woodlawn Avenue. The gunman opened fire as the officer stepped out of his vehicle, according to a statement from Eric Heath, associate vice president for safety and security at the university.

The officer returned fire and struck the man, according to the statement.

Paramedics picked up the gunshot victim, a man in his 20s, around 11:40 a.m. near Hyde Park Boulevard and Woodlawn Avenue, Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford said. He was taken in critical condition to the university’s medical center with several gunshot wounds, he said.

No one else was injured, the school said in its statement.

Shortly after the shooting, police blocked off 53rd Street from Kimbark to an alley west of Woodlawn. Six evidence markers could be seen on the ground.

An employee who answered the phone at Kimbark Liquor and Wine said people ran in the store saying they saw “a guy waving a gun” before shooting erupted. The employee, who asked not to be named, didn’t see the shooting himself.

After the shooting, some residents walked by and asked what had happened. “Welcome to Hyde Park,” one woman said under her breath as she passed by with her dog.

The Chicago Police Department and university are both investigating the shooting. The officer is being placed on mandatory administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigations, the school said.

In April 2018, University of Chicago police shot a student about a block from Tuesday’s incident after the man allegedly charged at an officer holding a pipe during a possible mental health crisis.

The student, then-21-year-old Charles Soji Thomas, was later charged with aggravated assault of a police officer and criminal damage to property for allegedly smashing windows of cars shortly before the shooting. The charges were later dropped.

Read More