NORTH LAWNDALE — A 45-year-old Pilsen man was ordered held on $10 million bail Tuesday after being charged with attempted murder for allegedly shooting two police officers over the weekend.
Bruce Lua, of the 1800 block of West Cermak Road, was charged with two counts of attempted murder, two counts of aggravated battery to a police officer and one felony count of unlawful use of a weapon. He was not in court Tuesday because he is still hospitalized from being shot in the leg by one of the officers and is scheduled to have surgery.
Police and prosecutors said officers responded to a ShotSpotter alert and multiple calls of shots fired about 7:19 a.m. Sunday near South Lawndale Avenue and West Douglas Boulevard.
The two uniformed officers saw Lua and followed him down an alley in their squad car. The officers exited their vehicle with their guns drawn but Lua, wearing a backpack, refused to take his hands out of his pocket or to stop walking. Lua then removed a 9mm handgun from his right pocket and shot at the officers, striking one in the right hand and hitting the other officer in the left hip in the right shoulder where the bullet lodged in his armpit, prosecutors said.
The officers fired back, hitting Lua once in the left leg. He was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he remained in custody, according to the Sun-Times.
Police Supt. David Brown said Sunday the officers did not chase the man before the shooting, a practice Mayor Lori Lightfoot wants overhauled after police fatally shot 13-year-old Adam Toledo March 29 in Little Village and after police fatally shot 22-year-old Anthony Alvarez March 31 in Portage Park. In the Toledo case, police were also responding to a ShotSpotter report of shots fired.
“The person didn’t run. These officers were in uniform and were clearly Chicago Police officers. This [man] had no regard for their position as police officers, no regard, and began trying to kill them,” Brown said.
The officers were treated and released from Mt. Sinai Hospital, although one needs to see a hand specialist and the other is having trouble walking, prosecutors said.
Because Lua was not in court Tuesday and has not been able to speak to his lawyer, Cook County Judge Arthur Wesley Willis deferred the prosecution’s request for no bail until Monday, and set bail at $10 million. Willis also set a separate $100,000 bail for violating his bond in a separate case.
The shooting is under investigation by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability and both officers will be placed on routine administrative duties for 30 days.
“Thankfully, none of the injuries are life-threatening to the officers or the” man, Lightfoot said.
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