Anthony Castaneda | Illinois Department of Corrections
CHICAGO (Sun-Times Media Wire) - A man and a 17-year-old boy have been charged with assaulting an off-duty Chicago Police officer who shot and critically wounded the older man Saturday night in the Northwest Side Belmont Cragin neighborhood.
Anthony Castaneda, 32, was charged with aggravated battery of a peace officer and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, both felonies, according to Chicago Police. Bond was set at $250,000 for Castaneda Monday, although he did not appear in court because he remained hospitalized.
A 17-year-old boy, whose name was not released, was charged with misdemeanor counts of aggravated assault of a peace officer and possession of cannabis.
The 37-year-old off-duty officer was walking east on Schubert Avenue from Monitor about 10:30 p.m. Saturday when he came across the 17-year-old, who was “aggressive” and holding his waistband, according to a police statement. The officer announced himself and started to pat him down when the boy called out to family members.
Castaneda came out of a residence armed with a baseball bat, police said. The officer identified himself again, but the man approached and hit the officer multiple times with the bat.
The officer, who is assigned to the Town Hall District, drew his gun and fired shots at Castaneda, striking him in the abdomen, police said. He was taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center in critical condition.
The officer suffered an injury to his arm and was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he was treated and released.
Castaneda, who lives in the 2500 block of North Monitor, was on parole at the time of the incident, according to the Illinois Department of Corrections. He was sentenced to nine years in prison for one count of aggravated kidnapping, a Class X felony, and paroled in February 2015.
The Independent Police Review Authority, which handles all police-involved shootings in Chicago, is also investigating the incident.