chicago — The robbery suspect now faces murder and attempted murder charges along with a long list of other criminal charges in Death by shooting A police officer in Chicago and another injured in the hospital, where they took him for treatment.
Alfonso Talley, 26, was scheduled to make his first appearance Monday in Cook County Circuit Court, the state Attorney’s Office said.
Officer John Bartholomew, 38, a 10-year veteran, was pronounced dead just before 1 p.m. Saturday. After he was shot at Swedish Endeavor Health Hospital, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office.
A second officer was seriously injured in the shooting Saturday morning, police said. His name was not immediately revealed. Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling said in a statement Monday that the wounded officer — 57 years old and 21 years of service — “is still fighting for his life.”
“While this offers no consolation for this tragedy, it represents the first step toward accountability,” Snelling said of the charges.
Before Monday’s hearing, a spokesman for the public defender’s office said he could not comment on his behalf because an attorney had not yet been appointed.
Officers had taken Talley, who was arrested on suspicion of armed robbery that morning, to hospital for observation. He fled after the shooting — a surveillance photo obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times showed him running naked, with electrodes on his chest — and was arrested less than two hours later.
Police did not explain how the suspect was able to obtain the weapon. Investigators eventually found three weapons, Snelling said.
“This shooting was a stark and heartbreaking reminder of the dangers our officers too often face on this job,” Snelling said.
A person in law enforcement custody was brought to the emergency department for treatment and “was searched upon arrival” for any weapons, according to protocol, the hospital said in a Facebook post. The hospital said law enforcement was accompanying him at all times.
According to Illinois Department of Corrections records, Talley’s criminal record includes convictions for aggravated battery of a peace officer and aiding, abetting, possessing or selling a stolen vehicle in 2023, as well as previous robbery and firearms convictions. The Cook County public defender was representing Talley in the case.