Off-Duty Cop Dressed As Clown Fatally Shoots Robber After Party
CHICAGO (STMW) - An off-duty Chicago Police officer was dressed as a clown and leaving a community event for toddlers when he fatally shot a man trying to rob him on the South Side Friday night.
The officer is "very active'' in the community and was in the costume because he was entertaining toddlers attending a sleepover at a daycare center prior to the shooting, according to police News Affairs Officer John Mirabelli.
The officer was leaving the fundraising event when the incident occured, and no children were nearby, according to Mirabelli.
The suspect approached the off-duty Chicago Police officer about 10:10 p.m. in the 1900 block of West 87th Street, produced a gun and tried to rob the officer, according to a statement from police News Affairs.
The officer and the robber struggled, and the gun discharged and struck the robber, the statement said. The weapon was recovered at the scene.
The man, believed to be in his 20s, was dead on the scene, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's office. He remained unidentified Saturday morning.
The officer suffered minor injuries, police said.
Calumet Area detectives and the Independent Police Review Authority are investigating.
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