Police Fatally Shoot Woman In Hickory Hills

March 11, 2012 2:41 PM

Nancy Van Raes, 49, was shot and killed by Hickory Hills police officers at her home on March 10, 2012. Police said she was pointing a handgun at the officers. (Photo credit: Facebook)

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HICKORY HILLS, Ill. (STMW) – Police fatally shot a 49-year-old woman late Saturday in southwest suburban Hickory Hills.

Nancy Van Raes was shot after pointing a gun at two police officers who responded to a call at her apartment in the 8600 block of South 82nd Avenue in Hickory Hills, according to a Hickory Hills police statement.

Police responded about 11:30 p.m. Saturday to a call for assistance at that address and were “confronted by an agitated” woman armed with a handgun, police said. Two officers backed their way out of Van Raes’ apartment and into a stairwell area, where she followed them and pointed the gun at them, police said.

“The officers fearing for their safety responded by using deadly force and shot the subject,” police said.

Building manager Ruth Bolisenga showed the bullet holes near Van Raes’ apartment. She says Van Raes had “issues” and possibly planned the confrontation with police.

“She planned a way to go,” she told CBS 2′s Dana Kozlov.

Van Raes was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

A Sunday autopsy determined Van Raes died from multiple gunshot wounds and her death was ruled a homicide, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office.

Illinois State Police, at the request of Hickory Hills police, are conducting an investigation and the two officers were placed on administrative leave per department policy.

Police Fatally Shoot Woman In Hickory Hills

German leprechaun

Perfect aim! Great shot.
OLD VET

WHAT POLICE OFFICER WOULD NOT RESPOND TO SOMEONE POINTING A GUN AT THEM !! THEY ARE NOT HIRED AS TARGETS FOR IDIOT’S LIKE HER !!
Money Talks, Laws Walk

The police obviously did the correct thing by backing out and thus giving the lady the opportunity to rethink the situation. She chose otherwise and charged at them again, police defended themselves again. I feel for the police that had to take this situation up a step and shoot, but that was their only option.

Even the landlord says the lady had ‘issues’, that could mean others new of the mental problems and probably the police were familiar with her too.
righttrack

Sounds like another case of “suicide by cop”. sounds just like another case in Connecticut last week. teh woman pulled out a gun in the parking lot of teh police station and pointed it at 2 officers. After repeated commands from police to drop the weapon, she was shot dead. Another case like this just happened in Florida last Friday. Both of these other cases were ruled “suicide by cop”.
Pastor John L. Smith

Poli in some cases should shoot towound a person and not kill them,.In this woman cast I believe that the police should have shot the gun out of the woman’s hand intstead of killing her.

Pamala E.

First, learn the law. When faced with deadly force, deadly force must be used. Police aren’t trained to wound. Officers are taught to eliminate the threat. Second, shooting the gun out of her was a ridiculous idea. Where did you get that from, the movies? In law enforcement, you strictly aim for body center the largest part of the body, never the extremities.
Joblo

Police are trained to shoot to kill. Why would you shoot someone to wound them, only to give the offender another chance to KILL you. Let’s put yourself in that situation. Thanks!
nard1dog

I would like to see you take the time to carefully aim at a deranged person’s hand while to point a loaded gun at you. Shutup with your righteous b.s..

Sad

Pastor Smith,
The real world is not the tv shows you watch.
Deadly force is matched by deadly force.
Pray for the Officers who have to make the decision if they should go home to their families or be killed by a nut who wants to commit suicide.
Mikael

First of all if the police did know of Ms. Van Rae’s history of mental illness, as many were fully aware that she suffered from Bi-Polar Disorder; why didn’t they also send for a psychiatric unit as well to help diffuse the situation? The police are very well known for “tazering” individuals, as well as dangerous criminals who are of sound mind!

The building manager, Ruth Bolisenga, has absolutely no right at all as to verbally conjecture such an untrue, outrageous and totally ignorant speculation claiming that, “She planned a way to go.” She even stated that the now deceased, victim in this homicide, slander and libel was, “Too religious to ever take her own life.” Thus she went as far as insinuating that it was a planned case of “Suicide by Cops”. Whether a person purposely takes their own life, or plans and purposely causes anybody else to (which to a Christian would actually be worse by putting another person in that situation); it would still be considered suicide either way! Suicide is based upon the intentions behind the actions.

Ruth Bolisenga should be charged with slander and libel as she cannot prove the very derogatory statements that she made. At the very least, she should be fired from her job by the owners of the building complex for her publicly slanderous remarks and conjectures in regards to their tenant Ms. Nancy Van Raes who leaves behind her 18 year old, daughter who lived with her.

Mikael

And you should be charged with being a moron and a nimcompoop.

Mikael

Hi, my name is Mikael and i’m a dolt!
BIRTHDAY BUDDIES MOMMY

THIS SITUATION COULD HAVE BEEN HANDLED ALOT DIFFERENT…FIRST OFF WHEN POLICE ARE IN AN APARTMENT WITH A “AGITATED WOMAN” WITH GUNS WHY WOULD THEY JUST BACK THEMSELVES OUT OF HER APARTMENT?? DONT YOU THINK THEY SHOULD HAVE TRIED TO HELP HER BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY SHE WANTED AND NEEDED HELP. SECONDLY THIS WOMAN WAS ABOUT 5,3″ AND WEIGHED 120 POUNDS.(I KNOW THIS BECAUSE I KNEW HER) IS IT NECESSARY TO SHOOT HER OVER 10 TIMES? THESE ARE QUESTIONS THAT NEED TO BE ANSWERED. SHE WAS ECCENTRIC SHE WAS FAR FROM THE MONSTER YOU ARE ALL MAKING HER OUT TO BE. SHE WAS NOT I REPEAT NOT TRYING TO DIE AS PEOPLE ARE SPECULATING. AN HOUR AND HALF PRIOR TO HER BRUTAL SHOOTING HER STATE OF MIND WAS JUST FINE. THIS WAS A CRY FOR HELP AND IT FAILED. SO INSTEAD OF BEING ON THE INTERNET AND POSTING CRUDE AND IGNORANT COMMENTS. THINK OF HER YOUNG DAUGHTER AND PRAY FOR HER IF YOU HAVE A DECENT BONE IN YOUR BODIES!!

Pamala E.

Sorry, faced with choosing my life and my partner’s life versus hers, I’ll choose my partner and I every time. Hopefully you will never know what is like to make a life or death decision in a split second.

BIRTHDAY BUDDIES MOMMY

REST IN PARADISE NANCY…YOU WILL BE MISSED AND YOUR DAUGHTER WILL BE TAKEN GOOD CARE OF!!
DaMan

Re: BIRTHDAY BUDDIES MOMMY

If a person has a gun aimed at you, why would you try using a taser? I think any police officer is going to choose his gun vs a taser in this situation. Tasers are for people out of control who don’t have a deadly weapon aimed at them.

If she wanted help then she should have admitted herself into a mental hospital. I don’t think waving a gun at the police is the best way to ask for help.

In this situation I believe the police did the correct thing. If someone opens fire on you, believe me, your going to unload your gun on that person to protect your life.
Kelly

Well I live in Hickory Hills, know many of the officers personally. They are the best group of police officers around. You don’t hear of them being overly aggressive with arrests, bigotry, force or any other kinds of bad character. The police know everyone at least by sight as they patrol regularly, visit all businesses and do the best they can within the law.. That being said, anyone who thinks that the police officers are capable of such excellent shots, to shoot a gun out of someone’s hand, when the hand is parallel with the gun and pointing at you, I would love to see the bullet that manages that kind of curve… The officers did everything right, including deciding to back out of the apartment instead of beinig agressive and attacking her.. She made the conscience decision to go after them and fired her gun at them… and what would have happened if she had shot both officers??… Others in the building were also in harms way….
Disappointed

Wow…. You all have no lives do you? She’s dead. Let her rest. Seriously. How would you like it if it was a family member of yours? Imagine if you were in that position and it was your daughter reading what a bunch of arrogant know-it-alls said about you?? Get a life and stay out of other people’s and please get a life while you’re at it. Do you really have nothing better to do than sit around and give opinions that don’t do anything but cause negativity???? Get a job and a life while you’re at it and keep your noses out of places they don’t belong!!!!!
Pamala E.

Perhaps in an effort to save you from yourself!!!!