A west suburban man faces a litany of criminal charges after he allegedly opened fire on Chicago police officers in the south suburbs while they tried to arrest him in connection with a fatal shooting at a store in Austin.
Roderick O’Neal, 36, of Maywood, was arrested in Dolton last Saturday and charged with murder in the fatal Feb. 24 shooting of Loyce Wright, a security guard at the Family Dollar store at 5410 W. Chicago Ave.
O’Neal is also charged with two counts of attempted murder, three counts of aggravated battery to a police officer and six counts of resisting arrest, according to police and court records.
Antoinette Ursitti, CPD’s chief of detectives, said Tuesday that O’Neal previously was an employee at the Family Dollar, and he and Wright were involved in an argument before the shooting.
The following day, Ursitti said, O’Neal opened fire on CPD officers as they tried to take him into custody in Dolton. His arrest report states that he also bit, struck and spit on officers. Ursitti added that O’Neal had an active arrest warrant for an attempted murder charge stemming from an incident in Forest Park.
“What we’re recognizing today is, across the (detective) bureau, a number of Chicago Police Department members who took a very violent individual off of our streets,” Ursitti said. “He is a violent criminal with a violent background.”
O’Neal’s initial court appearance was scheduled for Tuesday. Court records indicate he remains hospitalized.
