Police officer killed in Oak Park shooting; suspect in custody

OAK PARK, Ill. (CBS) – An Oak Park police officer was shot and killed Friday morning while responding to a report of a man with a gun leaving a bank. The suspect was also shot by police and arrested.

Oak Park Police Chief Shatonya Johnson said Detective Allan Reddins, 40, had been with the Oak Park Police Department since May 2019. He was the first Oak Park officer killed in the line of duty since 1938 .

“This is the worst day of any police chief,” Johnson said. “Our police department, we are hurting right now. I am hurting. His family is hurting. Please keep us in your prayers.”

Around 9 a.m., Reddins responded to a call of a man with a gun leaving the Chase Bank in the 1000 block of Lake Street, according to Johnson. Reddins and other officers encountered the suspect in the 800 block of Lake Street and told the man to show them his hands.

The gunman held a gun and shot Reddins in the left side. The officers returned fire, shooting the suspect in the leg.

Reddins was taken to Loyola University Medical Center in critical condition, where he was pronounced dead at 10:10 a.m. The suspect was also being treated at Loyola.

The shooting caught people off guard in Oak Park and left bullet holes in the windows of the village’s main library, which was closed to the public after the shooting.

A witness said he was at the nearby UPS store when he heard someone come out of the store and then heard what sounded like gunshots.

“I knew there were gunshots. I didn’t want to believe it,” she said.

Nicholas Gradishar said he was walking to a friend’s house nearby when he heard gunshots.

“I come downstairs after hearing the gunshots, then I come to the library to see it’s full of cops,” he said.

Gradishar said he saw police take the suspect into custody after he was shot.

“They checked his pockets. They found a small gun, but on the side, there was an ARP with a flashlight. So I don’t know which one he used to shoot at the police, but he had several weapons on him,” he said. he.

Gradishar recorded footage of the suspect on the ground with a gun nearby. A few moments later, paramedics took him away on a stretcher.

“Nothing happens here. You might find a fight or something, but nothing like that will ever happen here. So it’s wild,” he said.

A police procession took Reddins’ body from the hospital to the Cook County medical examiner’s office Friday afternoon. Dozens of police officers and firefighters from Chicago, Oak Park and other suburbs stood at attention and saluted as the ambulance arrived and Reddins’ body was escorted inside.

Johnson said Reddins leaves behind a 19-year-old son, along with his mother and siblings.

The chief described him as a “born leader, devoted father,” saying she personally conducted a background check on Reddins before hiring him as an officer in 2019.

“We quickly identified that he had a talent that was needed here,” she said. “He closed substantial cases and helped us solve countless incidents. He was a natural,”

Before joining the Oak Park Police Department, Reddins also worked for the Metra Police Department. He’s been a detective in Oak Park since 2022.

“I thought he would be a phenomenal field training officer as well, and I was really looking forward to him becoming a sergeant. He was just a natural leader,” Johnson said. “He would always go the extra mile, go the extra mile, and that’s huge, to say what more can be done?”

The investigation into the incident was ongoing Friday night. Johnson declined to say whether the shooting was caught on video, but said Oak Park officers are equipped with body cameras.

Information about Reddins’ funeral arrangements will be posted on the Village of Oak Park website once they have been made.

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