Two face charges in shooting of Dubuque police officer

Police have arrested a father and son in connection with the shooting of a police officer during an armed robbery on Thursday.

Eddie Chest, 71, of Freeport, Ill., faces charges of attempted murder, first-degree robbery and unauthorized possession of a firearm. Chest is hospitalized in fair condition at Mercy Medical Center.

Chest's son, Eddie Roger Adams, 46, no address, was arrested Thursday night on an unrelated probation violation. He also was arrested the same charges as his father and is in the Dubuque County Jail, police said last night.

Police said two men wearing ski masks entered Knicker's Saloon, 2186 Central Ave., at 12:52 p.m. Thursday. They were armed with shotguns and ordered patrons to lie on the floor.

After the men left the bar, one of them exchanged gunfire with police Lt. Scott Baxter, who was shot in the exchange. The suspect also was wounded.

Baxter was released from the hospital on Friday and is doing well, police said.

Mandy Molzof, who was in Knicker's at the time, said she got down on the floor when ordered, pulled out her cell phone “and tried calling (9-1-1) several times and it wouldn't go through.”

Another customer, Kenneth Schmidt, said, “Oh, when he poked me in the back with the shotgun, yeah, I was scared. He said I didn't get down low enough for him and he didn't like it.”

Several schools in the area locked down for a short time after the shootout and some school buses ran late. No employees or customers in Knicker's were injured during the robbery.