More details are emerging after a robbery suspect opened fire inside a busy Chicago hospital Saturday afternoon, with the suspect shooting and killing one Chicago police officer and critically wounding another, leading to a hospital lockdown and a manhunt as an investigation remains underway.
The incident unfolded just before 11 a.m. at Endeavor Health Swedish Hospital near Chicago’s Ravenswood neighborhood, at 5140 N. California Ave. as two officers were transporting a person to the hospital for observation, Chicago Police Department Supt. Larry Snelling said during a press conference.
Police sources told NBC Chicago the person was a suspect whom officers were taking to the hospital to get checked out before going to jail.
At one point, the suspect got ahold of one of the officers’ guns, sources said, firing shots at both before running out of the facility, which was placed on lockdown.
A statement from Endeavor Health said the suspect was brought in for treatment about 9 a.m. and was scanned for weapons upon arrival. The suspect was “escorted by law enforcement at all times” while inside before escaping.
“No team members or patients were physically harmed as a result of this incident,” the hospital said. “The safety of our patients and team members remains our top priority.”
One of the officers, later identified as John Barthelamy, 38, was shot in the head, police said. The 10-year veteran of the force was transported to a nearby hospital and later pronounced dead.
The other officer, who is 57-years-old and a 21-year CPD veteran, remains in critical condition, officials said.
After the suspect escaped, a manhunt ensued, with authorities swarming the hospital and nearby area as local officials asked residents to shelter in place. Alderman Andre Vasquez asked residents in the surrounding area to shelter in place.
Neighbors described the chaotic scene, with some catching glimpses of the suspect hiding and running through their neighborhood.
“My neighbors had called me until something was going on, so I looked on the camera and then I just seen all the police,” one neighbor said. The neighbor said the suspect, who was naked, made his way through a gangway. “Crouching, still naked. It was creepy. It was weird naked guy crouching down in that gangway.”
About 12 p.m., the suspect was taken into custody.
According to NBC 5 Investigates, the suspect has multiple arrests, including a robbery with a firearm in 2017 and 2018, a parole violation in 2021 and a vehicular hijacking with a firearm in 2025.
NBC Chicago is not naming the suspect because charges have not yet been announced.
