chicago
The police officer in Chicago who was shot in the leg and arm was taken to a hospital. His condition is unclear. Creative Commons

An off-duty police officer was shot and wounded in Chicago early Sunday during an apparent robbery at his home. The shooting took place in the 300 block of 103rd Place, according to WLS-TV in Chicago.

Johnny Patterson, 58, an officer with the Oak Park Police Department, was leaving for work when two men attempted to rob his home, WLS-TV reported. “When I heard the gunshots, I ran downstairs and I saw blood in the alley,” the officer’s grandson, Semaj Patterson, told the TV station.

Patterson was shot in the leg and arm. A neighbor described seeing the officer placed on a stretcher as he was being taken to a hospital and said he looked “OK.” However, his condition is unclear.

Two other police officers around the country were shot and wounded this weekend.

New York Police Department officer Brian Moore, 25, was critically wounded in the borough of Queens Saturday as he was shot twice in the head by a man later identified as Demetrius Blackwell, 35. Moore, a plainclothes officer with the NYPD’s anti-crime unit, and a colleague approached Blackwell in an unmarked police vehicle after seeing Blackwell adjust his waistband. Blackwell allegedly drew a gun and fired at least three shots.

“He immediately opened fire on them before they had a chance to get out of the vehicle,” NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton said during a news conference at Jamaica Hospital, where the police office was being treated for serious injuries. “Demetrius Blackwell was taken into custody 90 minutes after the incident.”

The Queens shooting came four months after the fatal shooting of NYPD officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos in the borough of Brooklyn in December. The officers were shot by a man who had apparently targeted them in the wake of the choking death of Eric Garner in July, an event that led to demonstrations across the country and sparked debate about police brutality.

Another police officer was shot in Cornelius, North Carolina, Saturday while responding to a domestic-disturbance call. He was taken to Carolina Medical Center. Circumstances surrounding the shooting are unclear. However, police said a suspect had been taken into custody.

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