A Chicago police officer critically wounded in a shooting at Endeavor Swedish Hospital has been transferred to a rehab facility.
On Thursday, Officer Nelson Crespo was transferred from the hospital where he had been receiving treatment as a result of the injuries he suffered in the April 25 shooting, which claimed the life of his partner Officer John Bartholomew.
Crespo, 57, was shot in the chin during the incident at Swedish Hospital, which unfolded as police were seeking treatment for a suspect in an armed robbery that had taken place earlier that day.
That suspect, whom prosecutors have identified as Alphanso Talley, allegedly smuggled a gun into the hospital, and while he was being uncuffed from his hospital bed to receive treatment, he pulled out the weapon and shot Bartholomew in the head and Crespo in the chin, according to prosecutors.
He then attempted to flee the hospital on foot, and he was taken into custody a short time later.
The bullet lodged in Crespo’s neck, and he was in critical condition at the time of the shooting. His transfer to a rehab facility was celebrated by his fellow officers, who gathered outside the facility on Thursday.
Chicago Ald. Gilbert Villegas was at the hospital on Thursday and spoke to NBC Chicago’s Christian Farr.
‘We need to make sure while he’s getting through his crisis that that’s not being interrupted. That’s why I wanted to help support that GoFundMe page, because I wanted to make sure that the things that people are not thinking about right now, like mortgage and car notes and all these other things…that his family being able to not have to worry about that, but have the ability to put all their attention to Officer Crespo,” he said.
