Woman Wounded Trying to Hide Gun in Chicago Squad Car

Nov. 04--Chicago police say a woman was trying to hide a gun under the back seat of a squad car when it went off and wounded her in the abdomen.

Tiara M. Paul, 20, was riding a Red Line train around 4 p.m. Saturday when officers spotted her going from one car to another while the train was moving, police said. The officers stopped her and discovered Paul was wanted on a warrant and took her into custody.

The officers conducted a "light, protective pat down'' of Paul, handcuffed her, then placed her in the back seat of a squad car while waiting a female officer to arrive for a more complete search, according to a police report.

Soon afterward, the officers heard a "pop" and found Paul suffering from a gunshot wound to the abdomen, the report said. A loaded 25-caliber handgun was recovered from the back of the squad car, the report said. It was not clear if one of the officers was in the car at the time.

The woman was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in serious-to-critical condition, according to Chicago Fire Department spokesman Chief Juan Hernandez. While in an ambulance, Paul told an officer she was "sorry for her actions'' and that she "was not trying to hurt the officers, she was only trying to pitch the gun,'' the police report said.

Paul, of the 1200 block of East 85th Street, was charged with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and reckless discharge of a firearm, both felonies, police said. Authorities said she had no valid FOID car.

Paul was also ticketed for unsafe crossing on a CTA train, police said.

Police spokesman Adam Collins said the officers followed "proper and standard procedure."

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