Blind Retired Chicago Police Officer Shot During Home Invasion

CHICAGO (CBS) (3/11/2014) – A blind retired Chicago police sergeant was critically wounded when he was shot during a home invasion overnight.

Police said the 73-year-old man was in his home at 115th Street and Avenue G shortly before midnight when two intruders gained entry through an unlocked door. They demanded to know where he kept his safe.

The man complied with their demands, but they shot him anyway, police said. His wife, who also was at home at the time, was not shot.

The two robbers fled the house and have not been seen since.

The man was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn in critical condition, with a gunshot wound to the neck.

The couple’s caretaker, Eva Luna, said the retired sergeant has gone blind from Diabetes, and his wife suffers from dementia.

“He’s very ill; you know, has his medical conditions, and he needs 24 hours of guidance. His wife, she takes care of him in the evening,” she said.

Luna said she’s been working for the couple for six years, so she feels like part of their family.

A neighbor said he believes the shooters knew exactly what they were after.

“When you hear something like that, you always think that there’s more to it than that; that there’s somebody involved that knew the situation. I don’t think he was very well off, but he had some money. He had a nice car, and a beautiful home,” neighbor Rich pina said. “Who knows what all is involved? I don’t think it was random, is what I’m saying.”

Luna said she didn’t know if the retired officer and his wife were specifically targeted, because there had been other recent break-ins in the neighborhood.

“It’s terrible. Just last week I was just telling him there was a break-in … around the corner,” she said.

Luna said the retired officer underwent surgery at Christ. He was out of surgery by early Tuesday morning, and was in critical but stable condition.

She said she hasn’t spoken to the retired sergeant’s wife since the shooting, because detectives have been keeping people away from the house. She said the retired officer’s two sons from his first marriage were on their way to Chicago from North Carolina, where they both live.

No one was in custody early Tuesday.

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2014/03/11/retired-police-officer-shot-during-home-invasion/#.Ux8SLXndFXs.twitter