March 22--One of two people shot by an off-duty police detective on the West Side has died, while the other person has been charged with assault, officials said.
Rekia Boyd, 22, of the 3400 block of West 79th Street, was pronounced dead at 1:15 p.m. Thursday at Mount Sinai Hospital, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.
The other person wounded by the detective, Antonio Cross, 39, of the 7100 block of South Ridgeland Avenue in the South Shore neighborhood, was released from Mount Sinai Hospital about being treated for a gunshot wound to the hand.
Cross has been charged with aggravated assault, a misdemeanor, according to police.
Police said Cross approached the detective's car with a handgun around 1 a.m. Wednesday near the intersection of 15th Place and Albany Avenue. The detective opened fire, hitting the him in the hand but also striking Boyd in the head, according to police officials.
Officers in the area, near Douglas Park, heard the gunfire and rushed to the scene. Police said he had been taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in good condition.
Pat Camden, a police union spokesman, said the detective was in his car and stopped as he approached four people on the street who were causing a disturbance.
When he told them to quiet down, they approached his car and one of them raised a gun and pointed it at the detective, Camden said. "At that point he fired a couple of shots in fear for his life,'' Camden said. "He hit two offenders who ran from the scene.''
Camden said the couple were found and taken to the hospital.
Police News Affairs released a statement saying the detective rolled down the window of his car to investigate a disturbance "and observed a male offender approach him with a handgun. At that point, the offender pointed the weapon in the direction of the detective. The detective announced his office and, as a result of this action, the detective discharged his weapon from his vehicle striking the offender. The offender was transported to an area hospital.
"Further investigation revealed a female subject sustained a gunshot wound and was transported to an area hospital. No other injuries were reported."
Police did not say whether a weapon was recovered.
The intersection of Albany and 15th Place was cordoned off with yellow and red tape after the shooting, and about a dozen police investigators, some holding flashlights, canvassed the area on foot.
Twitter: @RosemarySobol1
Copyright 2012 - Chicago Tribune
