Felon on probation tells Chicago cop 'you will die' after shooting him in face; officers had confronted him for threatening woman at gunpoint: prosecutors

A felon on probation shot a Chicago police officer in the face and told the cop "you will die" — and it all went down after officers confronted the shooter for threatening and holding a woman at gunpoint at a Lincoln Park strip mall, the Chicago Sun-Times reported, citing Cook County prosecutors.

What are the details?

The wounded officer and another officer tried talking to Jovan McPherson after the woman he was with asked for help Monday, the paper said, citing prosecutors. The officer who was shot has since been treated and released from Illinois Masonic Medical Center, the Sun-Times added.

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Earlier Monday, the 21-year-old woman McPherson ended up kidnapping picked him up in Elgin so they could run an errand in the city, prosecutors said.

When the woman got a call from the father of her child, 23-year-old McPherson got upset, pulled out a gun and took her cellphone, prosecutors said. He allegedly went on to hold the gun to her side and threatened to kill her as they drove.

When they drove on Interstate 90/94 toward downtown, McPherson grabbed the wheel and forced the woman to get off the expressway, prosecutors said. The woman went on to drive into a strip mall before she parked and went inside an Ulta Beauty store at 1000 W. North Avenue.

The woman asked a store employee for help when McPherson followed her inside and began to cause a disturbance, prosecutors said.

However another store employee got the attention of the two officers who were in the strip mall's parking lot, the Sun-Times said.

Image source: YouTube screenshot

Prosecutors said when McPherson left the store, one of the officers followed him, and then McPherson pulled off the officer's face mask, shoved him, put him in a "bear hug," and then returned to the store, the paper said.

Both officers followed him into the Ulta in an attempt to calm him down, but prosecutors told the Sun-Times that McPherson again headed outside and then went to the woman's car.

"I got a gun, too," McPherson allegedly told one of the officers while sitting in the woman's car, the paper said.

When the officer asked where the gun was, McPherson asked the officer if he wanted to fight and told the cop it was a "good gun, too," prosecutors said, according to the paper.

WBBM-TV added that McPherson also said, "Y'all not gonna get this; I'm too strong for this s**t."

More from the Sun-Times:

McPherson then allegedly pulled out a gun from under his legs. A struggle ensued as the officer tried to take the weapon away, prosecutors said. That's when McPherson fired a shot that struck the officer in the cheek, prosecutors said.

The officer's body-worn camera recorded McPherson shouting "you will die" after he fired another shot, prosecutors said. The injured officer was not struck by the second bullet. He was eventually able to take the gun away from McPherson as other officers arrived, prosecutors said.

Once in custody, McPherson claimed the officers had fired at him first, but only two shell casings were recovered at the scene and neither officer had fired their weapons, prosecutors said.

Image source: YouTube screenshot

Accidental shot?

The paper said an assistant public defender floated a narrative that McPherson may have fired the shot accidentally during the struggle over the weapon — but Judge Mary Marubio said McPherson's recorded statements demonstrated he intended to shoot the cop.

What happened to the suspect?

Marubio ordered McPherson held without bail for attempted murder and aggravated kidnapping and additional felonies, the Sun-Times said, adding that prosecutors said the suspect was on probation in connection with two cases — drug possession and fleeing and eluding arrest — in Kane County at the time of Monday's incident.

McPherson is expected back in court Nov. 9, the paper said.

Elgin Man Charged With Shooting Chicago Police Officer In Lincoln Park Shopping Center Parking Lotyoutu.be