LINCOLN SQUARE — The Chicago police officer killed in a shooting Saturday at Swedish Hospital has been identified as John Bartholomew.
Bartholomew was one of two officers shot by a robbery suspect who opened fire on police and escaped from custody Saturday morning at Swedish Hospital, 5140 N. California Ave., Chicago police officials said.
Bartholomew, 38, had been on the force for 10 years and was assigned to the Albany Park (17th) District, Supt. Larry Snelling said. He was pronounced dead just before 1 p.m. Saturday, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office, the agency that identified the officer.
Around 10:50 a.m. Saturday, a man in police custody for a suspected robbery was brought to Swedish Hospital to receive treatment when he shot two officers before escaping from the hospital, police said in a statement.
The officers were brought to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where Bartholomew was pronounced dead, authorities said. A second officer, who is a 21-year veteran of the force, was listed in critical condition. Police did not have an update on their condition Sunday morning.
The robbery suspect’s escape led to a SWAT response and manhunt, and the man was taken into custody near the hospital, police said. A weapon was taken into evidence, said Snelling, who did not say whose gun it might be.
Police Superintendent Larry Snelling discusses the shooting by a robbery suspect of two Chicago Police officers on Saturday, April 25, 2026, after one officer was killed and another critically wounded at Swedish Hospital earlier in the day. Credit: Charles Thrush/Block Club Chicago
Swedish Hospital reopened to the public Saturday afternoon following the shooting and manhunt.
“We ask that you keep the families of these officers in your prayers,” Snelling said Saturday. “This is a lot to go through. These are the dangers of policing. This is a very, very, extremely dangerous profession, but our officers go out there every single day, and they do this work knowing that when they go into these environments that they’re not safe.”
Charges have not been announced in the case as of Sunday morning.
Charles Thrush and Colin Boyle contributed reporting.
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