A man with a prior arrest was charged with killing a Chicago police officer in front of children this week.
18-year-old Steven Montano gunned down 32-year-old Officer Andres Vasquez-Lasso Wednesday afternoon in front of children playing at a school nearby.
Officer Vasquez-Lasso was responding to a domestic violence report Wednesday when he saw Montano chasing a woman near an elementary school.
The police officer was shot several times and died at Mount Sinai Medical Center, Fox Chicago reported.
Montano was shot in the head and is currently hospitalized.
Montano had a prior arrest that was a dropped misdemeanor charge, according to Fox News.
The officer is survived by his wife and young daughter.
Fox Chicago reported:
A Chicago police officer who died after a shootout with a suspect was killed in front of children playing at a school.
Officer Andres Vasquez-Lasso, 32, was shot several times as he chased an armed suspect Wednesday near Sawyer Elementary School, FOX Chicago reported.
“There were a lot of kids because it happened in front of the school,” a woman, who did not want to be named for her safety, told the news outlet. “And they go there to play. And we thought it was safe, so we would go and let them play there. But now it’s changed.”
She said her 10-year-old sister was playing with other kids when they saw the suspect pull a gun on Vazquez-Lasso. They heard gunfire and “ran as quickly as possible just to get to safety,” the woman said.
The incident began around 4:45 p.m. when two police cars responded to a domestic-related call in the 5200 block of South Spaulding Avenue. A caller said a suspect was chasing a female with a gun, Police Superintendent David O. Brown told reporters.
When officers arrived, one officer knocked on the door of where the call originated. A second officer engaged with the suspect and a chase ensued where gunfire was exchanged.
Vazquez-Lasso returned fire and shot the 18-year-old suspect in the head. The suspect remains in critical condition, police said Wednesday. The officer was taken to Mount Sinai Medical Center, where he died.