A 20-year-old McDonald's employee has been charged in the near-fatal shooting of a decorated Chicago police officer.
Paris Sadler is due to appear in bond court Thursday to face charges that he shot South Chicago District Tactical Officer Del Pearson, 47, in the chest Monday night during a foot pursuit, CBS Chicago reports.
Pearson had approached four alleged curfew violators around 10:45 p.m. Monday, when one of them ran. Pearson followed the individual down an alley, at which point shots were fired, one of which struck him in the left upper chest, just above his bulletproof vest.
Sadler, a graduate of Kenwood Academy who was living with his mother yards from the scene of the shooting, was arrested Tuesday, at which point police called him a "person of interest" in the incident, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. Although Sadler claimed to have no gang affiliations during an arrest last year for LSD possession, photos on his Facebook page feature gang signs and captions that reference EBK, or the Every Body Killers, an active gang faction in Chicago, according to police.
Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy says the city has a strong case against Sadler.
"We have significant ballistic evidence. We have significant statements that all play into the charging of this particular individual," McCarthy told ABC Chicago. "It's a very, very, very solid case."