Chicago Police Commander Shot, Killed in Thompson Center

A Chicago Police officer was shot and killed at the Thompson Center Tuesday afternoon, Feb. 13, while he was assisting a team chasing a suspect.

Police confirmed that Commander Paul Bauer of the Near North District was shot several times before 2 p.m. local time, police Superintendent Eddie Johnson told the Chicago Tribune.

“It’s a difficult day for us, but we’ll get through it,” Johnson said.

The suspect was taken into custody, and his gun was recovered.

Bauer, 53, joined the police force in 1986 and worked all over Chicago, the Tribune reported.

CHICAGO POLICE OFFICER SHOT DEAD: Police confirm Commander Bauer shot multiple times this afternoon. Chasing a suspect across from City Hall. pic.twitter.com/D65pME0zYD — Matt Finn (@MattFinnFNC) February 13, 2018

“I just ask the entire city for your thoughts and prayers,” Johnson said, reported NBC Chicago. “Any loss of life in this city is tragic, this one is difficult.”

Johnson said he had a wife and daughter.

“The hearts of every Chicagoan are heavy as we mourn the loss Commander Paul Bauer,” Mayor Rahm Emanuel in a statement. “Commander Bauer stood for the highest ideals of our police department and our city – to serve and protect the people of Chicago. His death is a tragic reminder of the dangerous duty the men and women of our police department accept to ensure the safety of us all. I ask every Chicagoan to keep Commander Bauer, his family, his friends and the entire Chicago Police Department in their thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.”

A #ChicagoPD commander who was off duty when he was shot while helping officers pursue a fleeing suspect near a downtown state government building has died. https://t.co/EpcDXbSGLc — AP Central U.S. (@APCentralRegion) February 13, 2018

Gov. Bruce Rauner tweeted: “Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and colleagues of the officer tragically lost in a shooting at the Thompson Center today.”

In the incident, officers were on a routine patrol near the Tompson Center on Tuesday before seeing a person acting suspiciously. When they tried to speak to him, a physical struggle took place and he escaped, CBS News reported.

Bauer was in the area and confronted the person. Bauer was shot several times, Johnson said.

Police warned locals to get off the streets before shots were fired.

“They actually had us locked in Walgreens,” one person in the area told CBS. “They taped it off, so we couldn’t get out. Just for a minute, and then they all hopped in their cop cars, and they all went south on Clark.”

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