Suspected Seller Of Assault Rifle Used To Shoot 2 Chicago Cops Let Go: Report

CHICAGO, IL — A man accused of selling the assault rifle allegedly used to fire 25 shots at two Chicago police officers sitting in an unmarked van in May on the South Side was released on $4,500 bail Wednesday after he was arrested by federal authorities last week, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. Charles Williams was charged in federal court with possession of a firearm by a felon after he allegedly sold another weapon to a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives criminal informant in La Grange, the report stated. Williams, however, was not charged in connection with the May 2 shooting that wounded the two officers, the report added.

A law enforcement source told the Sun-Times that Williams is suspected of selling a high-caliber assault rifle to La Raza gang members. Authorities determined that the same weapon was later used by a shooter to open fire on plainclothes police officers as they sat only a few feet away in a covert vehicle that the gunman thought contained rival gang members. At the time of the shooting, Chicago police Supt. Eddie Johnson described the military-style assault rifle as a "weapon of war." (Get Patch real-time email alerts for the latest news for Chicago — or your neighborhood. And iPhone users: Check out Patch's new app.)

Days after the attack, police arrested the alleged driver of the Town and Country minivan used in the shooting. Angel Gomez, 18, was ordered held without bail after he was charged with two counts each of attempted murder and aggravated battery with a firearm.

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The suspected shooter still hasn't been arrested, but police have told the Sun-Times that they believe he's in Mexico, where he has family. The department is working with the US Marshals to try to apprehend him, the report added.

"Please note that whether you’re in Chicago, Charlotte, Los Angeles, you have to spend these next few days consistently and constantly looking over your shoulder, because know this: We are coming to bring you to justice, and you will answer for your actions," Johnson said during a May press conference announcing the charges against Gomez.

The attack happened near 43rd Street and Ashland Avenue in the Back of the Yards neighborhood. One officer, 25, was hit in his left hip, upper left art and right side; the other officer, 38, received cuts along his upper back. Both officers were hospitalized, treated and released.

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Shortly after the shooting, police officials warned officers to watch out for gang members carrying assault rifles that can penetrate bulletproof vests. Only days after the attack on the Chicago officers, 10 people were shot — two of them fatally — in a gang retaliation during an impromptu memorial for an earlier gang-related shooting. The two suspected shooters used assault rifles in the attack.

More via the Chicago Sun-Times

Bullet holes riddle the unmarked conversion van driven by two Chicago police officers who were shot last week with an assault rifle. (Photo via Chicago Police Department)

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