Man, 19, shot by police after hour-long standoff in Riverside park

RIVERSIDE, Ill. (WLS) -- Police shot a 19-year-old man after an hour-long standoff in a west suburban park Wednesday night.

Riverside police and several other law enforcement agencies responded just before 9:30 p.m. to a report of a suicidal subject in Harrington Park in the 3500-block of South Harlem Avenue, according to a news release.

When officers arrived, they made contact with the man, who was walking in the park armed with a rifle, police said. The man began walking toward police with the rifle pointed at them after about an hour of negotiations, and an officer shot him, according to police.

Police immediately administered aid and called for paramedics, who were staged nearby. The man was transported to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, and he was "conscious and alert," police said.

Riverside police are conducting an independent investigation of the incident, but investigators from the Illinois State Police Public Integrity Unit took the lead on the central investigation. Police did not identify the man who was shot, citing the ongoing investigation. The officer who shot the man was not a Riverside officer but also was not identified.

"Although in the early stages of our investigation, we can confirm that the individual, who was armed, pointed the weapon directly at a police officer after being told several times to drop the weapon," police said.

The weapon the man held was a replica Mac 10-type gun, according to police.

Harlem Avenue from Lawton Road to Ogden Avenue was shut down for eight hours after the incident occurred.

Anyone with information is asked to call Riverside police at 708-447-2127.