Police were searching Sunday for suspects connected to weekend violence in which three police officers were shot, one of them 11 times.
In addition, the home of one of the wounded officers was later firebombed.
Two of the wounded officers were hit in a South Side alley Saturday night in what police said was a gang-related shooting. The police officers, gang tactical unit members, were responding to a report of gunfire when someone fired more than a dozen shots at their unmarked patrol car.
The initial volley of gunfire occurred during a battle between gangs, Police Department spokesman William Davis said. When the officers arrived, they apparently surprised one of the gangs’ members who was passing through an alley, Davis said.
The gang member responded by opening fire with a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun, police said. Both officers were in uniform.
The car’s driver, Officer Michael Robbins, 43, was shot 11 times, including four rounds that pierced his bullet-resistant vest, said Earl Nevels, commander of the Pullman Area detectives. Robbins was listed Sunday in serious but stable condition at Cook County Hospital.
The other officer, Talmatch Jackson, 35, suffered four gunshot wounds. His condition was listed as fair Sunday at the same hospital.
Robbins is an eight-year member of the force, and Jackson has been an officer since 1988. Both are assigned to the Grand Crossing District.
The shootings occurred shortly after 7:30 p.m. in an alley near 6507 S. Langley Ave. Police initially believed the shooting was an ambush, but later concluded that the shooter had not been lying in wait for the officers.
No arrests had been made in the case by late Sunday.
Another Chicago police officer was shot Friday night near the officer’s home in the 5800 block of South Maplewood Avenue, police said. The officer, identified by police Sunday as James Booker, was shot twice in the left leg. Each bullet was fired by a different gunman.
Booker, an eight-year member of the force assigned to the Englewood District, was off duty at the time.
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Police said Booker traded shots with 19-year-old Demetrius Bogan after Bogan intervened in an argument between Booker and his girlfriend. Bogan fired first, hitting Booker in the leg, police said. Booker then chased Bogan, firing several shots.
During the chase, police say, a second suspect also drew a gun and began firing, hitting Booker one more time in the leg.
Bogan suffered several gunshot wounds during the chase and was listed Sunday in serious condition at Mt. Sinai Hospital Medical Center. Bogan, who lives on the same block as Booker, has been charged with aggravated battery of a police officer, said Sgt. Lawrence Tuider.
On Saturday, police also took into custody a 20-year-old man believed to be the other gunman, but he was released after witnesses failed to identify him, Tuider said.
Booker’s Southwest Side home was firebombed the day after the shooting when two Molotov cocktails were thrown into his apartment shortly before noon Saturday, said Bomb and Arson Detective Denis Guest. Only one of the bombs exploded. No one was in the apartment at the time.
Police believe the bombing was done by gang members in retaliation for the shooting. No arrests had been made in the case Sunday
Bill Nolan, president of the Fraternal Order of Police’s Chicago lodge, said the shootings-coupled with the sniper killing of a Milwaukee police officer last week-show the need for police to deal with gangs on new terms.
“It’s time to take the gloves off,” Nolan said. “We want to go out there and take the streets back from these gangbangers and punks.”