SUSPECT KILLED IN POLICE SHOOTOUT
Man allegedly sought in connection with shooting earlier in day
A shooting suspect was killed Monday in a shootout with police in Richton Park, officials said in a statement.
Officers from both Park Forest and Richton Park were “directly involved in the exchange of gunfire” with the man, who matched the description of a suspect wanted in a shooting that happened in Park Forest earlier in the day, according a statement the Park Forest Police Department released on its Facebook page.
When officers approached the man in Richton Park and ordered him to stop, he disobeyed their orders and displayed a handgun, according to the statement.
“An exchange of gunfire ensued and the man ran westbound,” according to the statement, which does not specify who opened fire first. “The exchange of gunfire occurred over an approximately blocklong distance, at the conclusion of which the suspect collapsed.”
The man later was pronounced dead and his firearm was recovered at the scene, police said. He has not been identified, pending notification of his family.
Police said the man matched the description of someone who had been committed a shooting around 2 p.m. in the 400 block of Suwanee Street in Park Forest.
In that case, the victim, who had been shot in the head but still was able to speak, provided officers a description of his alleged assailant. The man shot was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn with “life-threatening injuries,” police said.
The police shootout happened after officers identified a man matching the description of the suspected shooter a short distance away in Richton Park, according to the statement.
Three Park Forest officers and one Richton Park officer were involved in the shootout, but no officers were hit in the exchange of bullets.
Per department policy, they will be placed on administrative leave while an investigation is launched.
A spokesman for the state police confirmed that the agency had been asked to investigate the officer-involved shooting, but was unable to share any more information.