The incident occurred around 9:35 a.m. on November 29, 2024, when the Oak Park Fire Department attended to a shooting on the 800 block of Lake Street. Reddins, 40, was discovered shot in his left side and was transported to Loyola University Medical Center in critical condition. Unfortunately, he was later pronounced dead. This marks the first line-of-duty death for the department since 1938.

The Village of Oak Park expressed their deepest sympathies to Detective Reddins' family, friends, and colleagues, emphasizing the community's shared grief over this tragic event. The confrontation began as a response to reports of an armed individual seen leaving a bank on the 1000 block of Lake Street. The suspect involved in the shooting of Reddins was also injured, sustaining a gunshot wound to the leg, and was taken to the same hospital where he is reported to be in stable condition. The specifics of who fired at the gunman remain unclear.

The scene near the Oak Park Public Library, located at 834 Lake St., was heavily secured, with officers from multiple jurisdictions including Chicago, River Grove, Elmwood Park, and the Cook County sheriff's office present. Witnesses described a chaotic and alarming situation. Agnes Albert, who works next to the library, recounted hearing the sounds of what initially seemed like fireworks but were actually gunfire, followed by police surrounding the injured suspect.

Another local resident, who chose to remain anonymous, reported waking up to the sound of multiple gunshots. He shared that he and his wife, residents of the area for nearly eight years, decided to temporarily leave for some peace amid the heightened concerns of rising crime after experiencing two shootings on their block this year.

The Oak Park community is left grappling with the loss of a dedicated detective as they try to come to terms with the violence that unfolded in their neighborhood.