Suspect in shooting that killed Oak Park. Detective Allan Reddins is charged with murder

A Chicago man accused of fatally shooting an Oak Park detective Friday has been charged, Oak Park officials announced Saturday.

Jerrell Thomas, 37, of North Lawndale, is charged with first-degree murder, attempted murder of a peace officer, possession of a stolen firearm and possession of a firearm by a felon, according to Oak Park officials. Thomas was previously arrested for aggravated assault on a police officer, resisting a police officer and domestic assault.

Just after 9:35 a.m. Friday, the Oak Park Fire Department responded to a shooting in the 800 block of Lake Street and found Oak Park Detective Allan Reddins shot on the left side, Oak Park police said. Shortly before the shooting, a gunman was seen leaving the Chase Bank branch in the 1000 block of Lake Street with a gun, prompting the initial response.

Reddins, a 40-year-old Chicago resident and five-year veteran of the Oak Park Police Department, was taken to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood in critical condition but was pronounced dead at the hospital, police said. It is the department’s first on-duty death since 1938.

“He was just a natural leader, he always went the extra mile,” Oak Park Police Chief Shatonya Johnson said Friday during a late afternoon media briefing.

Thomas was shot in the leg and is being treated at Loyola University Medical Center for “non-life-threatening injuries,” according to Oak Park officials. No bail hearing has been scheduled.

As part of routine shootings, when an officer is killed, the Illinois State Police Public Integrity Task Force assists in the investigation, Oak Park officials said.