A man killed Thursday during an encounter with police died from both a self-inflicted gunshot wound and from Chicago police gunfire, the Cook County medical examiner’s office ruled Friday.
His death was ruled a homicide, but the medical examiner’s office said that both gunshots — from himself and from police — “independently caused injuries severe enough to result in death.”
When “both external and internal factors may result in death, preference is given to external factors,” the medical examiner’s office said in a statement.
The medical examiner’s office said 31-year-old Mariano Ocon Jr. suffered a inflicted gunshot wound to the head, along with other gunshots to the chest and arm caused by another individual.
Ocon was fatally shot Thursday evening after a foot chase with police in the 6000 block of West Wellington Avenue, authorities said.
After a traffic stop, Ocon left his car and started running with a gun, police said.
An officer shot Ocon in the upper body, but police said it also appeared that he also shot himself. He died at the scene of the shooting.
Initially, police were initially unsure if Ocon was hit by police gunfire or his own. Hours after the shooting, police said it was apparent he suffered gunshots from himself and a police officer, but that police would wait for the medical examiner’s office to rule on the cause of death.
The shooting was the first fatal officer-involved shooting of the year.
The Civilian Office of Police Accountability was on scene of the shooting investigating the officer’s use of force, COPA said. According to city rules, the officer body-camera footage must be released to the public within 60 days of the incident.
