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Police Shoot, Kill Man Suspected Of Shooting Pregnant Girlfriend

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A man suspected of shooting his pregnant girlfriend was shot and killed by a Chicago police officer Sunday night in the West Garfield Park neighborhood.

The suspect also allegedly opened fire on officers responding to a domestic battery call around 11:30 p.m. in the 4600 block of West Adams Street.

Police said Richard Grimes shot his girlfriend in the stomach. Grimes' sister, Nicole Brady, said his girlfriend, Ashley Williams, was pregnant with their child. Williams ran upstairs to a neighbor's apartment, crying.

"I just woke up. She just said she got shot," the neighbor said.

Grimes fled the scene on foot, and police said he fired a handgun at officers who caught up to him near Kenton Avenue and Madison Street.

Officers caught up with him again in a gangway in the 4500 block of West Washington Street, police said. Grimes allegedly fired at officers again, and police returned fire shooting the gunman.

"In that area, he again shoots at the officers. Officers return fire, striking the individual," Chicago Police Deputy Chief Al Nagode said.

Richard Grimes
Richard Grimes (Photo supplied to CBS)

Eyewitness Jose Cruz said he found himself in the middle of the shootout.

"He was just letting them have it, and the police let him have it back, and I was just protecting my head," he said. "I didn't want to get hit by no bullet."

Grimes was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Williams also was taken to Stroger Hospital in serious condition. The baby boy, who the couple already had named Royal, did not survive.

Ashley Williams
Ashley Williams (Photo supplied to CBS)

One officer was treated at Loyola University Medical Center for an apparent graze wound to the head. Another officer was treated for a leg injury. Nagode said both officers were "doing well."

Police said a weapon was recovered at the scene.

Brady said it was "very surprising" to learn her brother had shot Williams.

"He wanted the baby; 100 percent wanted the baby. It was just like a snap, and a depression," Brady said.

Brady, 13, said the family is dealing with the deaths of her unborn nephew and her brother, and the near-fatal injury of a woman she's long regarded as a big sister.

"She's been knowing me since I was in diapers," "It's hard on me."

The officers involved in the shooting were being placed on desk duty for at least 30 days while the Independent Police Review Authority investigates.

It was the third fatal police-involved shooting in Chicago in five days.

On Friday, officers shot and killed 37-year-old Cleotha Mitchell, after police witnessed him fatally shoot 35-year-old Jeffery Banks in the Homan Square neighborhood, police said.

Late Wednesday night, a police sergeant fatally shot 19-year-old Kajuan Raye during a foot chase in the West Englewood neighborhood. The sergeant said Raye pointed a gun at him during the chase, but as of Friday, no weapon had been recovered. The sergeant has been stripped of his police powers, after Police Supt. Eddie Johnson said the department still has "many unanswered questions" about the shooting.

IPRA is investigating all of the shootings.

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