Zion police officers responded about 8:30 a.m. Wednesday to a report of a suspicious person taking pictures of schools near 22nd Street and Bethesda Boulevard, Zion.
“The suspicious person was located by officers and a foot pursuit ensued. It appeared the offender was wearing body armor. After the foot pursuit, a struggle with the offender and officers ensued, which resulted in the offender being shot,” according to a statement from the Lake County Major Crime Task Force.
In the initial investigation, no other suspects are believed to be connected to the shooting, police said. Initially police did not confirm whether the suspect was armed, but early witness reports indicate the a subject may have shot at police in the area Wednesday morning.
Also, the identity of the police officer involved in the shooting has not been released. Two Zion police officers were involved in the struggle and treated for minor injuries, according to a statement from Zion police.
Police administered aid to the man before paramedics arrived, and where the foot pursuit ended with the struggle near an alley between Ezekiel Avenue and Ezra Avenue. CPR was administered at the scene and during transport to Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan, where the man was pronounced dead.
The shooting incident caused Zion Elementary School District 6 and Beach Park School District 3 to place schools on lockdown while the major crime task force secured and initially investigated the scene.
Lake County Sheriff’s Detective Christopher Covelli confirmed that a male white subject who appeared to be wearing body armor was killed after he led police officers on a chase that ended in a struggle.