After car thieves shoot a man in Uptown, cops are ordered to stop pursuing the suspects

Chicago — A group of car thieves shot a man who confronted them as they broke into a car in Uptown on Wednesday evening, Chicago police said. The crew stole a Jeep and fled the scene, only to encounter Chicago cops hours later in Edgewater. Officers briefly pursued the vehicle until their supervisors ordered them to stop the chase upon reaching Lake Shore Drive.

It all began around 10:52 p.m. in the 1200 block of West Montrose. Police said a 42-year-old bicyclist saw a man breaking into a car and confronted him about it. The offender pulled out a weapon and shot at the victim, striking him in the elbow. Officers found eight rifle casings at the scene.

Police said in a media release that the gunman fled the scene on foot. However, CWB Chicago has learned that he stole a Jeep Grand Cherokee from the same block and headed east. Another stolen car was found abandoned at the scene, according to the source.

Chicago police tracked the stolen Jeep to the far South Side and then back north, where it pinged on a license plate reader in the 1000 block of West Hollywood around 2:05 a.m., according to CPD radio transmissions. Officers spotted the Jeep moments later and pursued it to southbound Lake Shore Drive at Lawrence before supervisors ordered them to terminate the chase.

The shooting victim was in fair condition at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, police said.

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