Oak Park police detective dies after shooting
A police officer has died after a shooting near the public library in downtown Oak Park.Just after 9:35 a.m., the Oak Park Fire Department responded to a shooting in the 800 block of Lake Street and found the officer, detective Allan Reddins, shot in the left side, Oak Park police said.Reddins, a 40-year-old Chicago resident and five-year veteran of Oak Park's Police Department, was taken to the Loyola University Medical Center in critical condition but was pronounced dead at the hospital, police said. It's the department's first line-of-duty death since 1938.“The Village of Oak Park extends its deepest condolences to Detective Reddins’ family, friends and colleagues within the Oak Park Police Department and the wider law enforcement community as they process the grief caused by this senseless violence,” a spokesperson for Oak Park said in a statement.A short time before the shooting, a gunman was seen leaving a bank in the 1000 block of Lake Street with a gun, which prompted the initial response, police said.The person who allegedly shot the officer was shot in the leg, officials said. He was taken to the same hospital where his condition had stabilized.It wasn’t immediately clear who shot the gunman.Shortly before 3 p.m., dozens of first responders paid their respects to the slain detective after gathering outside Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, where Reddins was pronounced dead. Shortly before 3 p.m., dozens of first responders gathered outside Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, where Reddins was pronounced dead.Violet Miller/Sun-Times Shortly before 3 p.m., dozens of first responders gathered outside Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood to pay their respects to Reddins, who was pronounced dead there after being shot on Nov. 29, 2024. Violet Miller/Sun-Times Shortly before 3 p.m., dozens of first responders gathered outside Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood to pay their respects to Reddins, who was pronounced dead there after being shot on Nov. 29, 2024. Violet Miller/Sun-Times The scene outside Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, where Oak Park Police Det. Allan Reddins has died after a shooting on Nov. 29, 2024. Violet Miller/Sun-Times The scene outside Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood where dozens of first responders gathered after Oak Park Det. Allan Reddins died there after a shooting on Nov. 29, 2024. Violet Miller/Sun-Times Earlier, at mid day, several police officers, including those from Chicago, River Grove, Elmwood Park, and the Cook County sheriff’s office, stood along with Oak Park officers near the Oak Park Public Library, 834 Lake St., which was cordoned off with yellow and red crime scene tape.
A police officer has died after a shooting near the public library in downtown Oak Park.
Just after 9:35 a.m., the Oak Park Fire Department responded to a shooting in the 800 block of Lake Street and found the officer, detective Allan Reddins, shot in the left side, Oak Park police said.
Reddins, a 40-year-old Chicago resident and five-year veteran of Oak Park's Police Department, was taken to the Loyola University Medical Center in critical condition but was pronounced dead at the hospital, police said. It's the department's first line-of-duty death since 1938.
“The Village of Oak Park extends its deepest condolences to Detective Reddins’ family, friends and colleagues within the Oak Park Police Department and the wider law enforcement community as they process the grief caused by this senseless violence,” a spokesperson for Oak Park said in a statement.
A short time before the shooting, a gunman was seen leaving a bank in the 1000 block of Lake Street with a gun, which prompted the initial response, police said.
The person who allegedly shot the officer was shot in the leg, officials said. He was taken to the same hospital where his condition had stabilized.
It wasn’t immediately clear who shot the gunman.
Shortly before 3 p.m., dozens of first responders paid their respects to the slain detective after gathering outside Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, where Reddins was pronounced dead.
Earlier, at mid day, several police officers, including those from Chicago, River Grove, Elmwood Park, and the Cook County sheriff’s office, stood along with Oak Park officers near the Oak Park Public Library, 834 Lake St., which was cordoned off with yellow and red crime scene tape.
Agnes Albert, who works in the building next to the library, said she had been in the bathroom when the shooting happened, but her client heard the exchange of gunfire.
“He asked me to check what was going on because he heard fireworks,” Albert said, adding she heard a man yelling about pain in his leg being swarmed by police moments later.
“Maybe people should stay at home and watch TV instead of running with guns,” Albert said.
Another man who lives in a nearby building and didn’t want to be identified for safety reasons, said he was awoken by about six gunshots before a brief pause and another volley of rounds.
“I didn’t poke my head out the window for a while,” he said. He and his wife, who have lived there almost eight years, are going to spend the weekend at her parent's house for the weekend to “get away," he said.
It was the second shooting in a year on their block — the first he attributed to “kids being stupid” — and he said worries crime is on the rise.
“That one I think was just kids being stupid,” he said. “Twice in one year is kind of ridiculous. … We just want to get away from the situation and let things calm down.”
Check back for details on this developing story.
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