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Man faces assault charges in Chicago police station shooting

CHICAGO (AP) - A man accused of walking into a Chicago police station and pointing a gun at officers, leading police to shoot and wound him, appeared in court on Friday on assault charges, where a judge ordered his bond set at $200,000.

The police department said in a news release that 43-year-old Terrick Bland, of nearby Maywood, is charged with five counts of aggravated assault of a peace officer and one felony count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

According to police, Bland on Wednesday walked into the lobby of the Ogden District station in the Lawndale neighborhood on the city's West Side and began shouting anti-police statements. When officers ordered him to drop a gun that he had wrapped in a plastic bag, he pointed it at officers and at least three of them opened fire.

Bland was shot once in the shoulder and was treated at a hospital for non-life-threatening injuries. According to the Cook County State's Attorney's office, Bland was represented at Friday's hearing by an attorney with the county public defender's office. An official from the office said she could not immediately determine who represented Bland.

It was the second time in a little more than a week in which Chicago officers shot an armed suspect inside of a police station.

On Sept. 26, police shot and wounded 47-year-old Donald Patrick, of Waukegan, after authorities say he climbed a fire escape on another West Side station, entered the building, grabbed handguns off a table and allegedly pointed them at officers who were undergoing SWAT training. Patrick was arrested and charged with burglary and aggravated assault of an officer using a firearm. He remains in jail.

After the shooting Wednesday, Brown said the department was examining what could be done to beef up security at police stations.

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