A Chicago man accused of fatally shooting an Oak Park detective Friday has been charged, Oak Park officials announced Saturday.
Jerrell Thomas, 37, of North Lawndale, is charged with first-degree murder, attempted murder of a peace officer, possession of a stolen firearm and possession of a firearm by a felon, according to Oak Park officials. Thomas has previously been arrested for aggravated battery to a police officer, resisting a police officer and domestic battery
Just after 9:35 a.m. Friday, the Oak Park Fire Department responded to a shooting in the 800 block of Lake Street and found Oak Park Det. Allan Reddins shot in the left side, Oak Park police said. A short time before the shooting, a gunman was seen leaving the Chase Bank branch in the 1000 block of Lake Street with a gun, which prompted the initial response.
Reddins, a 40-year-old Chicago resident and five-year veteran of the Oak Park Police Department, was taken to the Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood in critical condition but was pronounced dead at the hospital, police said. It’s the department’s first line-of-duty death since 1938.
Thomas was shot in the leg and is being treated at Loyola University Medical Center for “non-life-threatening injuries,” according to Oak Park officials officials. No bond hearing has been set.
As part of routine for shootings when an officer is killed, the Illinois State Police Public Integrity Task Force is helping with the investigation, per Oak Park officials.