Chicago Hospital Shooting Kills Officer
- A robbery suspect in Chicago police custody shot two officers inside Endeavor Health Swedish Hospital on Saturday morning, killing Officer John Bartholomew, 38, and critically wounding his 57-year-old partner. - Police said the officers, both from the 17th District, brought the suspect to the Ravenswood hospital for observation; he fled after the gunfire, and officers later arrested him nearby. - The shooting raised new questions about how an armed suspect cleared hospital screening while under police escort at a major emergency department. (apnews.com)
A robbery suspect in Chicago police custody shot two officers inside Endeavor Health Swedish Hospital on Saturday, killing Officer John Bartholomew and critically wounding his partner. (apnews.com) (abc7chicago.com) The shooting happened around 10:50 or 11 a.m. at Swedish Hospital, 5140 N. California Ave., after officers brought the suspect to the emergency room for observation, Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling said. (fox32chicago.com) (abc7chicago.com) Bartholomew was 38 and had served 10 years on the force. The second officer, 57, had been with the department for 21 years and was being treated in critical condition at Illinois Masonic Hospital. (abc7chicago.com) (fox32chicago.com) Police said both officers were assigned to the 17th District, which covers parts of the North Side including Ravenswood and Albany Park. Bartholomew was identified Sunday by the Cook County medical examiner. (abc7chicago.com) (nbcchicago.com) The suspect had been arrested earlier Saturday on suspicion of robbery, according to Snelling. After the shooting, he escaped the hospital building, triggering a lockdown and a large police search on the surrounding North Side blocks. (chicago.suntimes.com) (blockclubchicago.org) Authorities later took the suspect into custody nearby and recovered a weapon. Police said there was no active threat at the hospital by Saturday afternoon. (apnews.com) (fox32chicago.com) Endeavor Health said the patient had been "wanded upon arrival" and was escorted by law enforcement at all times under hospital safety protocols. The hospital said no patients or staff were injured. (abc7chicago.com) (cbsnews.com) That sequence left a central unanswered question by Sunday: how a suspect under police guard inside a screened hospital room was still able to open fire on two officers. (nbcchicago.com) (apnews.com) Alderman Jim Gardiner called Bartholomew a husband and father in a statement Sunday. The case now moves to investigators reconstructing how the gun entered the hospital and how the suspect got close enough to kill an officer already on duty. (abc7chicago.com) (blockclubchicago.org)
