By Nancy Ryan, Chicago Tribune
Police early this morning fatally shot a 36-year-old man after he refused to drop a 14-inch butcher knife he allegedly brandished at them during a quarrel with his ex-girlfriend in her North Side apartment.
The Cook County medical examiner’s office identified the dead man as Melvin Smith. His address was not immediately available.
Witnesses told WGN-Ch. 9 the incident began about 11:30 p.m. Sunday when two men -- the alleged assailant and another man neighbors said is currently seeing the woman -- got into a fight in front of the woman’s West Rogers Park apartment building.
The former boyfriend allegedly returned to the building, in the 1600 block of West Sherwin Avenue, shortly after midnight, kicked in the door, brandished the knife and threatened the woman, the other man and three young children, according to police.
Police were called about 12:15 a.m., and three officers from the Rogers Park District responded. As they arrived, they heard a woman scream, “He has a knife!” WGN reported.
“The offender was told numerous times to drop the knife,” police spokesman Pat Camden told WGN. “He kept advancing toward the officers with the children there, putting the officers in a defense-of-life position. They fired. The offender sustained fatal wounds.”
A police panel was to be convened today to determine if the officers handled the situation properly.