Alphanso Talley Kills Chicago Police Officer John Bartholomew in Swedish Hospital Shooting

A robbery suspect, Alphanso Talley, 26, shot and killed Chicago Police Officer John Bartholomew and critically wounded a second officer inside Endeavor Health Swedish Hospital in Chicago on Saturday morning, prosecutors said.

“Critics are calling the system broken and in need of immediate changes after Alphanso Talley allegedly shot two officers”

ABC7 Chicago

The Chicago Sun-Times reported that prosecutors said Talley “reached down from underneath the blanket and pulled out a handgun,” after he undressed for a CT scan and was given a blanket.

ABC7 Chicago

The Chicago Tribune similarly said Talley allegedly hid a gun up until a CT scan was about to be performed, when he pulled a pistol “out from under a blanket” and shot one officer in the face and a second in the chin.

NBC Chicago said the incident unfolded just before 11 a.m. at Endeavor Health Swedish Hospital at 5140 N. California Ave., as two officers were transporting a person to the hospital for observation.

NBC News reported that one officer was killed and another was critically injured in a shooting at a Chicago hospital by a suspect who was brought in to the emergency department, and that “One person is in custody and a weapon has been recovered.”

Multiple outlets described the suspect’s escape and the immediate police response, with NBC Chicago saying the hospital was placed on lockdown and a manhunt ensued.

After the shooting, prosecutors said Talley was found a short time later under a nearby porch, and he was ordered detained at a Monday hearing.

Prosecutors said Talley was taken to Swedish Hospital after he was arrested Saturday morning, and that the shooting followed as officers prepared him for medical testing.

The Chicago Sun-Times said Talley was taken to the hospital after being arrested Saturday morning, and that police tracked him down using a GPS device attached to stolen cash after he allegedly pistol-whipped a female employee at a Family Dollar store, then took her keys and wallet and made off with some cash around 8 a.m.

Block Club Chicago

The Chicago Tribune described the same sequence, saying Talley was arrested for allegedly robbing a dollar store on Saturday morning, told police he’d swallowed drugs, and was taken to Endeavor Health Swedish Hospital in the Lincoln Square neighborhood to get checked out.

NBC Chicago said the suspect was brought in for treatment about 9 a.m. and was scanned for weapons upon arrival, and that he was “escorted by law enforcement at all times” while inside before escaping.

NBC News said the hospital administration stated the person in police custody was “wanded” for weapon detection, and that the individual later fired shots at the law enforcement officers and exited the hospital building.

After the shooting, prosecutors said Talley ultimately shot out a hospital window and ran off, and the Chicago Sun-Times said he was found a short time later under a nearby porch.

At Monday’s detention hearing, the Chicago Sun-Times said Talley faced a host of charges including first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder and aggravated kidnapping, and it reported that he was ordered detained.

The NBC 5 Chicago report said police announced Talley was charged with 20 felonies, including first degree murder of a Chicago Police Officer and attempted murder of a second CPD officer, and it listed additional charges such as aggravated armed kidnapping, aggravated battery, escape, attempt to destroy evidence, and possession of a fraudulent ID.

Endeavor Health and Chicago Police leaders described the hospital’s weapon-detection steps and the response to the shooting, while prosecutors and reporters focused on how a gun reached the suspect.

“LINCOLN SQUARE — The Chicago police officer killed in a shooting Saturday at Swedish Hospital has been identified as John Bartholomew”

Block Club Chicago

The Chicago Sun-Times said Endeavor Health, the hospital system that includes Swedish Hospital, has said Talley “was wanded upon arrival” as part of its “public safety weapon detection protocols,” and it added that Endeavor said he was escorted by law enforcement at all times and that no hospital staff or patients were injured.

NBC Chicago quoted the hospital statement that “No team members or patients were physically harmed as a result of this incident,” and it said the hospital remained closed Saturday afternoon before a lockdown was lifted around 2 p.m. local time, according to NBC Chicago.

Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling told reporters during a press conference that the shooting happened just before 11 a.m. at Swedish Hospital near Chicago’s Ravenswood neighborhood, and NBC News said Snelling described one officer being shot in the head.

NBC News also reported that Snelling said the investigation was ongoing and he declined to detail why the suspect was transported to the hospital, while saying officers often take someone into custody to ensure they get treatment if they are suffering from illness.

The Chicago Sun-Times quoted Snelling after Monday’s hearing, saying charging Talley “does not bring solace to this tragedy,” but “it does bring the first step in accountability.”

In a separate report, Block Club Chicago quoted Snelling asking the public to keep families in their prayers and describing the dangers of policing, saying, “This is a lot to go through. These are the dangers of policing.”

The hospital administration’s account also appeared in West Asian outlets, which said the hospital stated the suspect had been in law enforcement custody before being moved for treatment, where police opened fire, before he was subdued and detained outside the hospital building.

As Talley’s case moved through court, elected officials and police union leaders used the shooting to argue that electronic monitoring systems failed to prevent a repeat offender from being free.

ABC7 Chicago reported that critics called the system broken and in need of immediate changes after Talley allegedly shot two officers, and it quoted Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza saying, “We should not be here today. This is a consequence of a failed system.”

CBS News

ABC7 Chicago said Talley had an arrest warrant pending for escaping from electronic monitoring, and it reported that Judge John Lyke agreed to let Talley out on electronic monitoring so he could go to college, but that when his monitoring device died because Talley did not charge it, Lyke issued an arrest warrant on March 11.

ABC7 Chicago said the warrant was still active on Saturday when Talley allegedly robbed a Family Dollar store in Albany Park, which led to the hospital shooting that killed Officer John Bartholomew and left his partner critically wounded.

The Chicago Sun-Times said after Monday’s hearing, Catanzara and elected officials decried a prior judge’s decision to release Talley during a pending case and demanded reforms to the electronic monitoring system, with 41st Ward Ald. Anthony Napolitano saying, “It’s an absolutely failed system.”

The Chicago Sun-Times also quoted Napolitano saying, “You’re putting individuals on an electronic monitoring system that are repeat offenders of major crimes,” and it quoted him demanding a threat level approach rather than giving monitoring “to anybody.”

In the same vein, ABC7 Chicago quoted 15th Ward Ald. Ray Lopez saying, “Officer Bartholomew would be alive today if his massively repeat offender of violent crime after violent crime were behind bars where he belonged, instead of free to roam our streets and caused the mayhem in a hospital.”

Federal prosecutors also brought charges tied to the gun used in the Swedish Hospital shooting, adding a separate thread to the investigation.

“Prosecutors on Monday said a convicted felon somehow took a gun into Swedish Hospital after he was arrested this weekend, then pulled it from under a blanket after he undressed and shot two Chicago cops, killing officer John Bartholomew”

Chicago Sun-Times

The Chicago Sun-Times reported that “federal prosecutors charged a woman with making a false statement while purchasing the 10 mm Glock pistol used in the attack,” and it said the feds say Olivia Burgos purchased the gun used in the incident in May 2024 from Range USA in Merrillville, Indiana.

Chicago Sun-Times

The Chicago Sun-Times said Burgos claimed on a form she was the actual purchaser and denied being addicted to illegal drugs at the time, but that when interviewed by law enforcement on Saturday, Burgos allegedly said she’d been addicted to fentanyl since April 2024 and had used the drug daily since.

The Chicago Tribune similarly described the federal complaint, saying Burgos was charged in U.S. District Court in Hammond with straw-purchasing the Glock 29 pistol at Range USA in Merrillville on May 27, 2024, and that the person she bought the gun for was identified only as “Individual A.”

The Tribune said Burgos listed her address on the paperwork in La Porte, Indiana, but in truth she was living with “Individual A” in nearby Highland at that time, and it said she lied by saying she was purchasing the gun for herself and that she had not used drugs.

The Tribune also said agents with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives interviewed Burgos at her current home in Harvey on Saturday, the day of the shooting at Swedish Hospital.

NBC Chicago and NBC News focused on the hospital incident itself, but both described the suspect’s escape and the weapon recovery, while the federal case tied the weapon’s origin to Indiana.