Bolingbrook man shot in standoff with cops

A Bolingbrook man was listed in critical condition Monday after being shot by a Bolingbrook police officer during a standoff, authorities said.

Police said Joseph E. Schaefer, 45, of 320 Drake Ave., fired at least two shotgun blasts at officers during the standoff that began late Sunday night and continued into Monday morning.

Schaefer was being treated at Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove.

The officer involved in the shooting was placed on administrative leave with pay.

The officer's role in the shooting is being investigated by Illinois State Police. Trooper Mark Dorencz said Monday investigators would not discuss specific details of the incident and would not share a timetable for completing their probe.

Bolingbrook police said they had no prior contact with Schaefer before Sunday night. But they said he has been arrested numerous times by other departments -- most recently on Aug. 21, 2006, by Itasca police for unlawful use of a weapon and aggravated assault after police say he pulled a gun on a cab driver.

Bolingbrook Lt. Ken Teppel said officers were in the area for an unrelated call at 11:23 p.m. Sunday when they were approached by an older man who told them his son had shot at him and ordered him out of the house at gunpoint.

Police said they secured the neighborhood around the Drake Avenue address.

The department's special response team arrived about 12:30 a.m. Monday and spent two hours unsuccessfully trying to make contact with the man.

Teppel said the phone inside the two-story house was off the hook. Police used a bullhorn and squad car public address system to try to reach the man but to no avail.

When those efforts failed, police broke windows on both sides of the house in an effort to pull down the blinds and throw an emergency phone into the building.

Schaefer was in one of the rooms where a window broke and fired two rounds from a shotgun at the officers, Teppel said. No one was injured in that exchange.

Schaefer then went to the other broken window, Teppel said, where an officer ordered him to drop his weapon. Teppel said Schaefer raised his shotgun at the officer and the officer shot him.

Teppel said he did not know where or how many times Schaefer was hit.

Authorities said they then broke down a door to gain entry to the residence, where Bolingbrook Fire Department paramedics treated the wounded man before transporting him to the hospital.

No other injuries were reported.

Teppel said the officer involved in the shooting was placed on paid administrative leave according to department policy and was "taking some quiet time." He said the officer will be required to talk to a traumatic stress expert and be cleared before returning to active duty.