25 Shots Fired At Chicago Cops Mistaken For Gang Rivals: Prosecutors

CHICAGO, IL — A gunman using a military-style assault rifle — what Chicago's top cop described as "a weapon of war" a day earlier — rained down 25 shots on two plainclothes police officers last week on the South Side, wounding the men as they sat only a few feet away in a covert vehicle that the shooter thought housed rival gang members, Cook County prosecutors revealed Monday at the bail hearing for the teenager who was the alleged driver in the attack. Angel Gomez, 18, was ordered held without bail after he was arrested over the weekend and charged with two counts of each of attempted murder and aggravated battery with a firearm, the Chicago Tribune reports. Gomez allegedly admitted on video that he was the driver in the shooting that happened at about 9:10 p.m. Tuesday, May 2, in the Back of the Yards neighborhood, the report added.

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During Monday's hearing, prosecutors described how the officers were caught in a shower of bullets and shrapnel after the gunman — a La Raza gang member who is still at large — opened fire from the front passenger seat of the minivan he was in before opening the vehicle's sliding door to continue the onslaught, the report stated. One officer, 25, was hit in his left hip, upper left art and right side; the other officer, 38, received cuts along his upper back. Both officers were released from the hospital Wednesday, police said.

The officers, driving an unmarked black conversion van, had been in the area of Halsted Street and Archer Avenue to investigate a nearby gang-related shooting that occurred earlier that day, the report stated. Thinking that the van belonged to rival gang members, Gomez and the shooter drove up beside the officers in a stolen Town and Country minivan and began the attack, the report added.

WATCH: Angel Gomez, 18, is accused of driving the minivan involved in the shooting of two Chicago police officers last week:

Despite being pinned by gunfire, the officers fired back, shooting out the minivan's tires, the report stated. Gomez, however, was still able to drive away before the two suspects abandoned the vehicle near 43rd Street and Ashland Avenue and fled on foot. Police later discovered a rifle by nearby railroad tracks, the report added.

In a news conference Sunday announcing the charges against Gomez, also a reputed La Raza gang member, CPD Superintendent Eddie Johnson offered an ominous warning to the suspected gunman who police continue to hunt for:

"Please note that whether you’re in Chicago, Charlotte, Los Angeles, you have to spend these next few days consistently and constantly looking over your shoulder, because know this: We are coming to bring you to justice, and you will answer for your actions."

Last week's shooting illustrated the increased danger of assault rifles in the hands of gang members. On Sunday, 10 people were shot — two of them fatally — in a gang retaliation during an impromptu memorial for an earlier gang-related shooting. The two suspected shooters who are still at large used rifles in the attack, police said. Since then, officers have been warned to watch out for gang members carrying military-style rifles that can penetrate bulletproof vests, the Tribune reports.

WATCH: Chicago police official discuss charges filed against Angel Gomez in connection with the shooting of two officers last week during a news conference Sunday:

More via the Chicago Tribune

Bullet holes riddle the unmarked conversion van driven by two Chicago police officers who were shot last week with an assault rifle. (Photo via Chicago Police Department)

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