North Riverside Police Shoot Suspected Bank Robber
(CBS) – North Riverside police shot a suspected bank robber who tried to take a hostage Tuesday afternoon in a strip mall.
Police say they responded around 12:30 p.m. to a report of an attempted bank robbery at a TCF Bank branch at 7201 W. 24th Street. Officers saw the suspect walking along strip mall stores nearby and ordered him to the ground. Instead, he removed an "object" from his pocket and pointed it at them, police said in a news release.
The suspect ran into Burlington Coat factory with officers in pursuit, police said. He again removed an object from his pocket and pointed it at officers several times.
The suspect then grabbed an elderly man and held him at knifepoint "in an attempt to use him as a human shield," police said.
Officers were able to shoot the suspect. The 41-year-old man was taken to Loyola Hospital.
The Illinois State Police Public Integrity Task Force is investigating the incident.
No further details were available.
Bridgette Johnson that lives near the strip mall, says she is frightened that this happened in her neighborhood.
"I come here all the time with my family, my son, my mother," she says.
