CHICAGO _ A man suspected of firing a gun at police has died after officers shot him on the West Side on Saturday afternoon in Lawndale.
The 30-year-old man was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, officials said.
The confrontation between police and the suspect happened in two exchanges of gunfire shortly after 3:30 p.m., police said.
Frazier Preparatory Academy, a K-8th grade school, is located nearby.
The 30-year-old was hit during the second gun battle in a narrow gangway as officers were searching the neighborhood, looking for him.
The incident started when Chicago police officers on patrol stopped a man who was walking because they wanted to talk to him about a "weapon issue," Chicago police Sgt. Michael Malinowski told reporters in a news conference at the scene.
Suddenly, they spotted a gun on him and an "armed confrontation ensues," said Malinowski, and the suspect ran away.
Several assisting officers got there to help in the search and a "second armed confrontation ensues," and police shot him, said Malinowski.
"The offender was taken to an area hospital and later pronounced (dead)," Malinowski said, adding the man had been "known to police.''
A 43-year-old Chicago police officer who suffered chest and ankle pain was taken to Rush University Medical Center following the incident, said Chicago Fire Department Deputy District Chief Curtis Hudson. He was not shot but injured his ankle while jumping a fence, giving chase.
The officers involved, from the 10th and 11th police districts, will be placed on administrative duties for 30 days, per policy and the shooting is being investigated by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, or COPA.
"These guys acted quickly and they did exactly what they were supposed to do," said Malinowski of the officers.
Malinowski said a gun was recovered from the scene.
The crime scene spanned several blocks on Lawndale near Frazier Preparatory Academy with more than a dozen police vehicles and the mobile command center.
Small groups of neighbors gathered outside the scene, some holding umbrellas against a light rain.
Neighbors reported hearing two separate bursts of gunfire.
A woman who lives in a nearby apartment complex but did not want to give her name said she heard the first burst of gunfire. Her daughter then heard the second.
"Mommy, there are police by my school," the woman said her daughter told her.
