Man faces assault charges in Chicago police station shooting

CHICAGO (AP) — A man accused of walking into a Chicago police station and pointing a gun at officers, leading police to shoot and wound him, was expected to appear in court Friday on assault charges.

The police department said in a news release that 43-year-old Terrick Bland, of nearby Maywood, is charged with five counts of aggravated assault of a peace officer and one felony count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

According to police, Bland on Wednesday walked into the lobby of the Ogden District station in the Lawndale neighborhood on the city's West Side and began shouting anti-police statements. When officers ordered him to drop a gun that he had wrapped in a plastic bag, he pointed it at officers and at least three of them opened fire.

Bland was shot once in the shoulder and was treated at a hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.

It was the second time in a little more than a week in which Chicago officers shot an armed suspect inside of a police station.

On Sept. 26, police shot and wounded 47-year-old Donald Patrick, of Waukegan, after authorities say he climbed a fire escape on another West Side station, entered the building, grabbed handguns off a table and allegedly pointed them at officers who were undergoing SWAT training. Patrick was arrested and charged with burglary and aggravated assault of an officer using a firearm. He remains in jail.

After the shooting Wednesday, Brown said the department was examining what could be done to beef up security at police stations.