Cicero's top cop is praising the actions of a concealed gun holder who opened fire on a suspect who had shot one of the town's officers after a traffic stop on the Stevenson Expressway during evening rush hour Thursday.

“We were lucky enough to have a citizen on the street there who is a conceal carry holder, and he engaged in gunfire with the suspect," Cicero Police Supt. Jerry Chlada Jr. said outside Mount Sinai Hospital, where Officer Luis Duarte was listed in good condition after undergoing surgery for four bullet wounds to the arm, leg and side.

The shootout began around 5:05 p.m. when Cicero police tried to stop a car in the 3900 block of South Cicero Avenue, Chlada said. The driver sped off but the officers boxed in his car on the southbound Cicero exit of the Stevenson. The driver got out and fired several rounds at two officers, then ran north on Cicero and fired at another officer chasing him, Chlada said.

A man with a concealed carry license driving south on Cicero left his car and fired at the suspect, Chlada said. The suspect was hit and was listed in serious condition, police said. It was not clear if the suspect was shot by the conceal carry holder or police.

Cicero police Superintendent Jerry Chlada Jr. addresses reporters outside Mount Sinai Hospital on Sept. 13, 2018, in Chicago. A Cicero police officer was shot during a traffic stop in the 3900 block of South Cicero Avenue and was transported to Mount Sinai, where he was stabilized. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune) Cicero police Superintendent Jerry Chlada Jr. addresses reporters outside Mount Sinai Hospital on Sept. 13, 2018, in Chicago. A Cicero police officer was shot during a traffic stop in the 3900 block of South Cicero Avenue and was transported to Mount Sinai, where he was stabilized. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)

Duarte, 31, was taken to Mount Sinai, the ambulance escorted by several police cars. Duarte was surrounded by his wife, parents and brothers and sisters as he underwent surgery.

Chicago police Sgt. Rocco Alioto said Chicago police wound handle the investigation and the Illinois State Police would investigate the officer-involved shooting.

Cicero Town President Larry Dominick, speaking to reporters outside Mount Sinai Hospital, thanked the Cicero and Chicago police officers who responded to the shooting, as well as the conceal carry holder. "I want to applaud the citizen, a civilian, who risked his life to help in apprehending this armed suspect," he said.

There have been about 40 shootings by people with concealed carry licenses since Illinois became the last state to allow them four years ago, according to a recent Tribune analysis.

The review found that most of the shootings have been in public places in the Chicago area, and half the cases have involved concealed carry holders firing to defend themselves or someone else from robbers. At least 11 people have been killed, including a man with a license who tried to fend off carjackers on the West Side.

More than 265,000 people have licenses to carry concealed guns in Illinois, about 2 percent of the adult population. Cook County, the state’s most populous county, has nearly 74,000 holders of conceal carry licenses.

To get a license, you must be at least 21 and have a valid firearm owners identification card. You can’t have been convicted of physical violence in the last five years, or had more than two DUIs in the past five years or have any outstanding arrest warrants.

You also must undergo 16 hours of training — usually a weekend — and have hit 21 of 30 targets at close range. To renew a license, required every five years, a person must take a refresher course that covers gun skills.

The Tribune’s Liam Ford and Hannah Leone contributed.

lford@chicagotribune.com

mbuckley@chicagotribune.com