Fender Bender - Shots Fired

Ambushed following a hit-and-run:

• Three men are in custody for allegedly firing shots at the personal car of an off duty Chicago Police officer who was in the car early Friday in the Back-of-the-Yards neighborhood on the South Side.

  At 12:08 a.m. the off-duty officer was involved in a minor traffic accident at West 47th Street and South Ashland Avenue, according to a Wentworth Area police sergeant who said the vehicle that collided with the officer’s fled the scene after the wreck.

  At 12:10 a.m. a 10-1 was called -- meaning an officer needs assistance immediately.

  The officer followed the car while asking for help, issuing a description of the fleeing vehicle and prompting several other police units to begin responding, the sergeant said.

  But while the officer was at a stop sign at West 46th Street and South Paulina Avenue, four or five shots rang out from another vehicle that was behind the officer -- not the one the officer was following.

Either friends from the first car or reinforcements called after the first accident? In any event, a situation that could have turned out very badly. Be careful out there.

Two responding officers were injured during the incident. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.