Brother of murder suspect fatally shot by police in South Chicago

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Chicago police shot and killed an armed man they thought was a murder suspect Tuesday afternoon in the city's South Chicago neighborhood. Police said officers later learned they had executed the arrest warrant on the wrong person.

Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the Chicago Police Department's fugitive team attempted to take a murder suspect into custody in the 8100-block of South Chappel Avenue around 1:45 p.m.

After police approached the man in a car, he pulled out a gun, at which time an officer also drew their weapon and shot him, police said.

It was not clear whether or not the suspect fired his gun. The circumstances of the shooting are under investigation. Guglielmi said a weapon was recovered at the scene.

The victim, identified as 21-year-old Curtis Stagger, was transported in "very critical" condition to University of Chicago Hospital, where he died.

Guglielmi said that after formal identification through fingerprints and other means, police found the victim was in fact the brother of the suspect they were looking for. That suspect is wanted in the May 14 shooting death of 15-year-old Jaylin Ellzey in the 200 block of West 113th Street in Chicago's Roseland neighborhood.

The victim's family members were at the scene of the shooting briefly, visibly distraught, before going to the hospital.

A neighbor said the shooting happened in the driveway of the Stagger's uncle's house. He said the uncle works at a police station, and had multiple nephews. The medical examiner's report showed that Stagger lived a block away.

"This happens. It's just not supposed to happen on this block," the neighbor said. "This is the quiet block, the suburb block."

Horace Mann elementary school, which sits at the end of the block, was briefly placed on lockdown after the shooting, a spokesperson for Chicago Public Schools said.

Two officers were also taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn for observation, Langford said.

The Civilian Office of Police Accountability is investigating the shooting.

The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.