One man was shot and another fled from the scene early Saturday morning following an armed robbery at Ryan’s Pub, 7928 W. Lincoln Highway in Frankfort Township, officials said.
The Will County sheriff’s office reported the two men entered the bar at about 3:15 a.m. armed with handguns and demanded money from several patrons and employees.
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The men, wearing dark colored clothing, with latex gloves, masks and hoods, threatened to shoot the patrons and employees, who pleaded for their lives, and one patron who had access to a firearm pointed it at the suspects, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office.
The patron shot at the armed robbery suspects, striking one of the men several times while the other fled the building and drove off east on Lincoln Highway headed toward Harlem Avenue, according to the sheriff’s office.
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The Will County coroner’s office reported the man who was shot was pronounced dead at 7:30 a.m., but said later Saturday the 20-year-old’s identify was being withheld until his family has been notified.
The patron who fired the shots said he feared he would be shot when he fired, according to the sheriff’s office. Investigators said all the witnesses are cooperating with the investigation, and their statements are consistent with video surveillance obtained from inside of the business. No one has been charged.
Sheriff’s investigators said the men had two firearms that were both recovered, one found near the man who was shot and the other in the parking lot. Those firearms were later discovered to be “replica” firearms, similar to an airsoft gun, according to the sheriff’s office.
Investigators said the men had completed the armed robbery, but believe the majority of the proceeds were stuffed inside the pants and pockets of the man who was shot.
