Investigators were stunned earlier this year when they learned the handgun used to shoot three Chicago Police officers on the West Side was owned by a former Chicago cop.Now they have some answers about how the gun got from that former cop and into the hands of the man who wounded the three officers on March 14 in the Harrison District.
The ex-cop told investigators he kept the .40-caliber Glock Model 22 handgun at a relative’s home in unincorporated Palatine in the northwest suburbs.
Cook County sheriff’s investigators learned a cable TV installer was working in the home around the time the gun went missing.
Then they tracked down the 20-year-old installer, Andre Cummings Jr., who admitted he stole the gun from the home, officials said.
Cummings, of west suburban Villa Park, told investigators he kept the gun in his company truck, officials said. He allegedly said someone broke into the truck and stole the gun on Dec. 15.
“The process of a gun going from legal to illegal is pretty well illustrated here,” said Ben Breit, a spokesman for Sheriff Tom Dart.
But investigators still don’t know how the gun got from the truck to the scene of the shooting of the three officers in the Homan Square neighborhood, Breit said.
“This was a collaborative effort with CPD,” he said. “We wanted to put the pieces together about how this tragic incident occurred. Thank God the officers didn’t get killed.”
The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted the records search that determined that the former Chicago cop was the lawful owner of the gun, which wasn’t one of his service weapons, officials said.
Cummings was charged on May 13 with residential burglary, possession of a stolen firearm and theft. He’s being held in the Cook County Jail in lieu of $75,000 bond.
The shooter, 29-year-old Lamar Harris, was killed in a gun battle with the officers. Police officials say the three Harrison District tactical officers approached Harris, who ran and fired at them. At least one of the officers fired back, killing Harris.
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