Man paralyzed from waist down was driving when gunmen in the car opened fire on off-duty suburban cop
Darreon Thompson | Chicago police
CHICAGO - A man paralyzed from the waist down was allegedly behind the wheel when gunmen opened fire on an off-duty suburban police officer driving to work over the weekend, leading to a crash and a shootout that left the officer and a bystander wounded.
Darreon Thompson, 24, was arrested roughly half an hour after passed a gun to someone riding in his car who shot a 51-year-old woman and a 43-year-old bystander in the 2300 block of East 103rd Street, according to Chicago police.
The woman, who is a Merrionette Park police officer, was driving along 103rd Street when someone in Thompson's car started shooting, police said.
She crashed her Chevy into a black Ford and began exchanging gunfire with people in Thompson's car, police said.
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The off-duty officer was shot in the neck and transported to a nearby hospital where she was listed in stable condition, police said.
The 43-year-old bystander was shot in both legs and was hospitalized in stable condition.
A law enforcement source said Thompson is paralyzed from the waist down and was using levers to accelerate and brake the car. The arrest report notes that an unoccupied city bus was used to transport Thompson after he was taken into custody, and his family was allowed to bring him his wheelchair while he was detained.
Two people who were in the Ford were injured in the crash and taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, officials said.
The Merrionette Police Chief said in a statement Saturday that the officer was on her way to work when the shooting happened.
Thompson was charged with first-degree attempted murder, two counts of aggravated battery with a firearm and one count of unlawful use of a weapon by a felon, all felonies.
Thompson was also cited for driving without a license, blowing a red light and failing to stay in his lane.
He is due in bond court Monday.
The officer involved in the shooting previously worked as a Chicago cop. The Chicago Police Board voted to fire her in May of 2015, finding that she had falsified police documents, including a parking ticket issued to a vehicle owned by former Internal Affairs Chief Juan Rivera.
The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.