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Officer Wounded, Man Killed In Police-Involved Shooting

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A female Chicago police officer suffered a graze wound to the leg and a man was killed in a police-involved shooting late Wednesday in the South Shore neighborhood.

The incident began about 11:40 p.m. near the intersection of East 79th and South Shore Drive, police said.

Fraternal Order of Police spokesman Pat Camden said two officers responded to a disturbance at the intersection and saw a man with a knife stabbing another man.

When officers ordered the attacker to drop the weapon, he pulled out a hammer from his pocket and started swinging it at the officers, Camden said.

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The female officer fired a Tazer, but the barbs missed the suspect or did not have an effect, and the man continued to approach police, according to Camden.

Both the officer and her partner then opened fire on the suspect with their weapons, according to a statement from police News Affairs.

The female officer suffered a gunshot wound to the leg, police said. Her injury was not considered to be life-threatening.

Camden described the injury as a graze wound and said the officer was treated and released from the hospital.

It was unclear if the female officer was wounded by a shot directly from her partner's gun, by a bullet that may have ricocheted off an object or if she accidentally shot herself.

Neither police News Affiars or Camden would specify the details about her injury.

The Cook County Medical Examiner's office confirmed early Thursday that a man in his 20s was dead at the scene in the 7900 block of South Coles Avenue.

The man did not have a gun, police said.

A black body bag could be seen in the middle of the road as police closed 79th Street from South Shore Drive to Exchange Avenue.

More than 30 cops remained at the scene early Thursday. Officers could be seen searching the area, and several evidence markers were placed on the ground 79th Street near Coles Avenue.

The Independent Police Review Authority – which investigates all police-involved shootings – was collecting details.

The man the suspect stabbed was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, according to Camden.

He was listed in serious condition, according to the statement from police News Affairs.

Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2010. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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