Dolton police shoot, kill man they say refused to drop gun outside ex-girlfriend's home

DOLTON, Ill. (WLS) -- Illinois State Police are investigating a deadly shooting involving officers with the Dolton Police Department Friday morning.

ISP said they were notified by the Dolton Police Department of an officer-involved shooting at about 6 a.m. in the 600-block of East 144th Place.

Residents on the cul-de-sac said they were woken up by shouting and gunfire around 5:30 a.m.

"I just heard, 'Yo, get out of the car. Get out of the car,' and then that was followed by the gun shots," resident Chloe Simmons said. "I was just coming out of my sleep and I was like, 'what is it?'"

"I heard like 10 or 15 gunshots in the alley," resident Janita Smith said. "It sounded like it was coming from the alley. And I called Dolton police."

Dolton police, however, were already there. At least one of their officers discharged his weapon while responding to a call for help from a woman living inside a home.

"I was told by an officer that they got a call for a domestic a few times during the night from the neighbor, and then when they arrived on the scene, the man had a gun," resident Janice Anderson said.

Police said that man was the woman's ex-boyfriend and that she had a restraining order against him.

Investigators said that when the first officer arrived on the scene, they approached him inside his car and saw he had a gun. They opened fire after police say the suspect refused to drop the weapon.

The suspect was killed. His name has not yet been released by the medical examiner. Neighbors were clearly shaken by what happened.

"I actually have a 3-month old baby in the house, so it's pretty startling that this happened right behind the house," Simmons said.

The officers involved have been placed on administrative duty for the next 30 days, per protocol. State police are expected to question them as early as Monday.