A man remained in critical condition Monday afternoon after being shot by an Aurora police officer after allegedly charging at the officer armed with knives outside a home in the city Sunday morning.
Advertisement
Aurora Police Chief Keith Cross during a press conference Monday said officers responded to a house in the 900 block of Colorado Avenue around 10:38 a.m. after receiving a 911 call from a family member inside the home. The person said another family member was armed with multiple knives and threatening people inside the house.
When officers arrived on the scene, Cross said they found a man holding multiple knives in the doorway of the home and threatening to kill everyone.
Advertisement
Cross said officers made efforts to verbally de-escalate the situation, making multiple commands for the man to drop his weapons. The man then turned his attention to the police officers and threatened to kill them, according to police.
Meanwhile, officers were working to evacuate the family members from the home, police said.
The man exited the home and engaged with the officers in the garage, officials said. The man, still armed with the knives, then charged at an officer, who then shot the man, according to police. Police declined to say how many times the man had been shot due to the ongoing investigation.
Police said they rendered aid until Aurora Fire Department paramedics arrived and took the man to a hospital, where he is now listed in critical condition, officials said Monday.
The situation unfolded quickly, with eight minutes between police responding to the call and the paramedics being dispatched, police said.
Cross said the officers used other de-escalation tactics, but declined to say what specific tactics were used.
Cross said there were no mental health professionals on the scene during the incident. Since 2020, the department has used a “co-response method” with social workers to help individuals in a mental health crisis that may pose a risk to themselves or others, according to the department’s website.
Advertisement
The officer involved in the shooting was also taken to a hospital, per the department’s policy, and was later released, police said.
All officers who responded to the incident have been placed on paid administrative leave, in keeping with police policy, officials said.
The Kane County Major Crimes Task Force is conducting the investigation into the shooting in accordance with Illinois law.
Police declined to give the age or name of the man who was shot. Cross said he could not answer many questions because the case is under investigation.
“This was a very unfortunate situation for everyone involved,” Cross said. “An officer-involved shooting is traumatic for everyone involved. We are providing support for our officers as well as the family of the subject.”
