A man free on pretrial release in a separate criminal case opened fire at a Chicago hospital Saturday, killing one police officer and wounding another, prosecutors allege.
Alphanso Talley, 27, was charged on Monday after allegedly killing 38-year-old Chicago Police Department officer John Bartholomew at Swedish Hospital on Saturday, and injuring another officer.
Talley allegedly shot both officers around 11 a.m. at the hospital, where officials said he was taken into custody for a previous armed robbery. While he was being taken to a CT scan, prosecutors said he had a gun underneath his blanket, which he pulled out and then shot both officers.
Talley fled the scene and was found hiding under a nearby porch, where prosecutors said he was still in his hospital gown and allegedly still in possession of a 10mm handgun. Prosecutors said shell casings from the gun matched those that were recovered at the hospital.
He was charged with murder, attempted murder, aggravated unlawful restraint, armed robbery, aggravated discharge of a firearm, possession of a firearm by a felon, aggravated battery of a peace officer, aggravated battery, escape and unlawful use of a weapon.
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Talley has a prior gun-related conviction from 2021 and four aggravated robbery convictions from 2017, which prosecutors say qualify him for a charge of unlawful possession of a weapon by a repeat offender.
At the time Talley was accused of murdering Bartholomew and shooting another officer, he was out of jail on pretrial release for a previous armed robbery case, according to the Chicago Tribune.
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A warrant for his arrest was issued on March 11 while he was on pretrial release for the alleged armed robbery.
Talley was ordered to be detained on Monday during a court hearing and was remanded to the Cook County Department of Corrections.
John Catanzara, Chicago Fraternal Order of Police president, said during a news conference that the shooting should be a wake up call for Illinois politicians.
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“I’m going to ask you something. Are you going to continue to be there and call out these judges and politicians and the SAFE-T Act and all the poor decisions that have been made in this building and in Springfield that have led to this moment? Or you’re going to fade off into the sunset once this bond hearing is done and the trial is done?
“Without pressure from the media, nothing changes. It just doesn’t. They literally go hide in a corner and continue on with their nonsense of trying to let criminals out on the street in any way, shape or form they can and excuse bad behavior. It needs to f—— stop. It just does,” Catanzara said.
Fox News’ Patrick McGovern contributed to this report.
