Oak Park Police Officer Shot as He Leaves for Work Sunday Morning

An Oak Park police officer leaving his home early Sunday was shot twice on the South Side of Chicago in the 300 block of West 103rd Place in an apparent robbery attempt.

His grandson told the Chicago Tribune that his 58-year-old grandfather was leaving for work at 5 a.m. when he was shot in the arm and leg after two men approached him and fired several shots. The Oak Park officer returned fire and struck one of the men, according to police.

The officer has been identified as Johnny Patterson. His grandson, Semaj Patterson, 19, rushed into the alley to help his grandfather while his grandmother called 911.

“He said he was all right. I just held him up because I saw he was shot in the leg,” Patterson told the Tribune. ”(He’s) always been a tough guy.”

The officer was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn.

The gunmen fled, but Chicago police found two men — one with a gunshot wound — nearby in the 9900 block of South Princeton. One was taken by ambulance to Christ Medical Center and the other was cuffed and put into a squad car, the Tribune reports.

Police believe the two assailants were trying to rob the officer. Police are checking the cameras from a nearby CTA bus for video, reports ABC 7 Chicago. Passengers on the bus saw the men being taken into custody.