Two Chicago police officers, dressed in plain clothes, were shot and wounded in the city's Back of the Yards neighborhood as they investigated an unrelated crime.

The CPD believes THAT the two officers were "targeted" when one or possibly two cars pulled up alongside them at an intersection and opened fire "indiscriminately."

ABC News:

One officer was shot in the arm and hip and the other in the back, Johnson said. They were taken to a local hospital and are both expected to make a complete recovery, he said.

The department believes that the officers were the intended targets. They returned gunfire, according to the department, but it did not say if they hit anyone.

"They were firing at the officers," Johnson said. "Right now, there's an extensive manhunt underway for the individuals responsible and we will get them."

The officers, who were dressed in plain clothes, were conducting a follow-up investigation to a previous incident when they were hit, according to the department. It declined to offer details on the nature of the case the officers were working on.

Police found multiple weapons and a vehicle they believe are linked to the shooting, Johnson said.

The department said it is questioning "a few" people in connection to the case.

"It's just another example of how dangerous this job is," said Johnson. "And I think people take it for granted that when police officers come to work every day, they put their lives on the line every single day they get in their car."

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel echoed Jonson's comments in a statement posted on Twitter after the incident.

"Tonight was a frightening reminder of the dangers our dedicated officers face," Emanuel tweeted. "Thank you @Chicago_Police for putting service above self."

Johnson noted that the area where the shooting took place had been troubled by gun activity.

"We have to do something about the gun violence in this city," he said. "If they will fire at police officers like that, then they have no type of thought process in terms of firing at other citizens in this great city."

Witnesses reported hearing as many as 30 shots of gunfire, and some said it sounded like an assault rifle.

Is it a coincidence that news of another high-profile police shooting of a young black man broke on Saturday?

JORDAN EDWARDS

This black 15-year-old was fatally shot Saturday by a suburban Dallas police officer while a passenger in a car that was moving away, not in reverse toward officers. Balch Springs Police Chief Jonathan Haber said Monday that police video contradicts his department’s original statement about the high school freshman’s killing by officers investigating an underage drinking complaint at a house party Edwards was leaving. The chief wouldn’t identify the officer nor describe his race. The officer is on leave while police investigate, but the boy’s family wants him fired and criminally charged, their lawyer said.

The officer involved has already been dismissed, according to reports.  Coupled with the news that two Baton Rouge police officers involved in another shooting of an unarmed civilian last year won't face federal civil rights charges, the correlation between those reports and the attempted assassination of two Chicago cops becomes suggestive.

Once again, Black Lives Matter rhetoric against the police must be examined as a possible contributing factor to this targeted assassination attempt.  I don't see how you can avoid placing at least part of the blame on activists who all but advocate the shooting of police officers.  The media tiptoe around this aspect of cop shootings because of the racial aspect of the crimes and the fact that black activists will pull out the race card when it comes to questioning anything BLM says or does.

Those who use incendiary rhetoric against the police should be held to account for their words.  So far, they've gotten a free ride for inciting riots and violence.  Understandably, this has angered the police community, but it won't change until the media recognize the inherent danger of the explosive rhetoric coming from activistS that puts the lives of officers in danger.