An off-duty Kane County sheriff’s deputy police officer shot and killed a person near Walnut Avenue and National Street in Elgin, possibly in response to an armed robbery he witnessed as it was occurring.
While the Kane County Major Crimes Task Force and the Elgin Police Department have released almost no details about the incident that took place about 4:35 p.m. Monday, Kane County Sheriff Ron Hain told WGN-TV Tuesday morning that the deputy was driving through the area and observed the suspect pull a gun while attacking someone.
He fired the shots to protect the victim, who was not injured, Hain said.
“I have to point out how heroic the work is, even off-duty, that police officers do when they see something happening like that, that they’re going to jump in and take immediate action,” Hain said in the interview. “I couldn’t be more proud of him.”
Nicholas Jenz, public information officer for the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office, said he could not verify Hain’s account. Jenz has been serving as the spokesman for the task force in the case.
“The state’s attorney is meeting with Major Crimes Task Force to review the evidence from their preliminary investigation this afternoon,” he said in a response to an email from The Courier-News.
“We are hoping to provide a statement this evening, after the review, to provide some more clarity. This morning the sheriff spoke to another news outlet, but the information he provided has not been confirmed yet by the state’s attorney, who is conducting the review of the shooting.”
At this point, there has been no information officially released on the identity of the person killed or the deputy involved in the shooting, what might have led him to fire his gun or how many shots were fired.
It’s also not known if it’s believed the deputy took the action lawfully or if he’s been placed on administrative leave while the investigation is conducted.
According to Hain in the WGN-TV report, the task force is responsible for the administrative side of the investigation and the Elgin Police Department is handling the criminal incident that led to the shooting.
That was not verified by the news release issued Tuesday morning by Jenz, which said, “Investigators want to ensure all facts of the case remain intact during this crucial investigation, and updates to the public will be provided when possible.”
Lakshay Chauhay, manager of the Mobil gas station across from the scene of the shooting, said he was in his office Monday afternoon when the shooting occurred. He did not witness what happened but did hear a loud noise.
“We heard screaming so we came (outside),” Chauhay said. “Everything happened so fast.”
