A 53-year-old man was shot by a Skokie police officer on Saturday after the man lunged at the officer with a knife, police said.
The incident began at about 9:40 a.m. on Saturday when Skokie police were notified by Evanston police that a person involved in a battery in Evanston was riding on a CTA bus traveling through Skokie.
A short time after being notified, Skokie police were called to the 4800 block of Oakton Street for a disturbance at a business, police said. The description of the person causing the disturbance matched the suspect involved in the Evanston incident, Skokie police said in a press release.
When police arrived to the scene on Oakton, they discovered that the suspect, who is from Mount Prospect, confronted a business owner on the sidewalk. The owner ran into his business then locked the door. The suspect then tried to kick in the front door of the business, police said.
When a Skokie police officer approached the suspect, the man brandished a "sharp edged knife." The man refused to put the knife down after the 14-year veteran officer continually ordered him to do so, police said.
The man then lunged at police with the knife several times, police said. As he lunged at police he continued moving east on the sidewalk toward Skokie Boulevard, police said. The man made his way to the intersection of Oakton Street and Skokie Boulevard.
The officers struck the man with a baton and sprayed him with pepper spray but neither affected the man, who continued to hold on to the knife. The man then lunged toward the officer with the knife again.
At that point, the police officer shot the man once in the left leg.
The suspect was taken to St. Francis Hospital where his condition had stabilized.
Evanston officials said the man was also involved in the earlier battery.
Charges are pending.
Copyright 2013 - Chicago Tribune
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
