A man brandishing a replica pistol was shot and killed by a Highwood police officer during an incident on Thursday, the Lake County Major Crime Task Force said.
Police officers had been dispatched to a residence in the 200 block of Morgan Place at 4:48 p.m. for a well-being check on a man reported to be suicidal and highly intoxicated, the task force said.
The person who called the police, who is a relative of the man who was shot, told police that the man’s girlfriend also might be in the home.
Arriving officers found the man locked in a bathroom. The officers talked to him for several minutes, asking him to come out and be checked by paramedics. The man reportedly told the police that he was armed and that he “hoped the officers were wearing their vests,” the task force said.
The man abruptly exited the bathroom and pointed the replica pistol at the officers, one of whom discharged their weapon.
The pistol appears to be capable of shooting projectiles of some sort, task force spokesman Christopher Covelli said.
The officers rendered aid until paramedics took over and transported the man to a hospital. He later died there, the task force said.
