"They basically saw a black man with a gun": Illinois police kill an armed guard by answering a call | Law and order



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It all started as gun advocates suggested reducing violence. A gun comes out. The shots are fired. A "good guy with a gun" comes in to help before the police can react.

The orderly theory does not account for chaotic unknowns when the police arrive and can not tell a "good guy" with a "nasty" gun with a gun.

The theory has turned into a sinister reality at Manny's Blue Room Bar in Robbins, Illinois, outside Chicago early Sunday.

The police shot and killed the good guy. Jemel Roberson, 26, worked for security.

"Everyone was shouting," He was a security guard "and they actually saw a black man with a gun and killed him," said Witness Adam Harris at WGN.

The incident could become a touchstone in a persistent debate over how places such as schools, discotheques and places of worship should gang up against gunmen.

This debate has gained urgency over the past year, as President Donald Trump and others have repeatedly said that security guards – especially armed guards – could have prevented mass shootings in the country. ; Earlier this year, Trump tweeted his support for the controversial idea of ​​arming teachers.

And the Sunday incident has already caused concern that black men, even if they were carrying guns legally or were employed in a position to use them, could always become a target for police shots.

Roberson had a valid firearms owner's license, but had no hidden transportation license, reported WGN. In 2016, in Minnesota, Philando Castile was killed by an officer during a roadside check a few seconds after informing an officer of the presence of a weapon in the car.

The details of the shooting in Illinois were unclear on Monday. Midlothian police chief Daniel Delaney said in a statement that officers from his department and Robbins police department responding to a shooting had found several victims inside the bar.

According to the statement, "the Midlothian officer met a subject with a gun" and shot him.

Delaney did not explain what had happened before the police intervention.

The incident began with a confrontation involving several men and a man gone to retrieve a firearm. He returned to the bar and opened fire, hitting several people, the Chicago Tribune reported, citing Robbins police chief Roy Wells.

Roberson fought back and arrested a suspect, according to the Tribune, while officers from suburban police responded.

It is unclear how the killings went from there, how and if the police officers identified themselves, whether Roberson was holding a firearm or how long it was before the officer shot Roberson who was pronounced dead at the hospital.

The Cook County Sheriff's Office and Robbins Police Department, who have not responded to requests for comment, are investigating the shooting that led police to the scene, Delaney said.

Illinois State Police will investigate the murder of Roberson by the Midlothian agent. Delaney did not answer a question about the administrative status of the agent.

Roberson is one of at least 840 people who have been shot by police until now in 2018 and at least 19 in Illinois, according to a Washington Post database.

At least 173 people who were shot by police this year – 21% – were black. The American population is about 13% black.

More than half of those killed – 459 people, including Roberson – would have a rifle when police reportedly killed them.

Roberson was a musician playing drums and keyboards in local churches, said Patricia Hill, pastor at the Chicago-based Purposed Church at WGN.

But Hill said Roberson had a bigger ambition: to become a police officer one day.

Justin Jouvenal contributed to this report.

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