Police shoot, kill sledgehammer-wielding man in Chicago suburb
ROUND LAKE BEACH, Ill. (CBS) -- A CBS 2 exclusive: The mother of a young man killed by police in the northern suburbs talks about what happened.
The shooting happened while officers responded to a 911 call of that man beating his family members with a sledgehammer.
CBS 2's Asal Rezaei has a breakdown of what led up to the shooting.
Police said that the suspect was shot after charging at officers with the sledgehammer multiple times.
A chaotic scene around 3:00 Wednesday afternoon on the 2000 block of Redwood Drive in Round Lake Beach. Police were called for a domestic battery with a weapon near Eagle Creek Drive, according to the Lake County Major Crimes Task Force spokesman Christopher Covelli.
An officer was able to get the two victims, the mother and aunt of the suspect outside to an ambulance before they said he lunged at them multiple times.
Officers first deployed a Taser before shooting that suspect who later died.
The suspect's mother spoke with CBS 2. She was bleeding and badly injured and said her 22-year-old son Brandon Barry was sick and didn't know what was going on.
"That's my son and I loved him very much and now I don't know what to do," she said. "They could have shot him in his leg, they could have shot him in his arm. They didn't have to put three bullets in his heart."
Officers heard the offender had a sledgehammer, with which he had attacked his mother and his aunt. Police found the woman in the garage with injuries consistent with being hit with a blunt force instrument, Covelli said.
Covelli said officers found the suspect on the front porch – still wielding the sledgehammer. He came at the officer aggressively with the sledgehammer in hand, Covelli said.
At least one officer tried to use a Taser to subdue the suspect, but this did not work, Covelli said. It was not immediately clear whether one or both of the Taser probes missed the suspect.
The officers began to retreat, but the suspect kept coming at them, Covelli said. One officer used his shield to push the suspect back – and police were able to create a distance from him, Covellis said.
But the suspect kept coming at the officers with a sledgehammer and he raised it while focusing on one specific officer, Covelli said.
"There are several prior instances of domestic disputes, domestic disturbances at this residence," said Covelli. "The individual was known to law enforcement."
The women who were hit with the sledgehammer were taken to an area hospital with serious injuries. They were in serious, but stable condition.
Three Round Lake Beach police officers were also transported to an area hospital for evaluation, Covelli said.
The violent incident shocked residents.
"Very quiet neighborhood, very friendly people, very community-oriented," said neighbor Laura Widenhoefer.
Late Wednesday, police were talking with the victims, who were in hospital gowns. The victims showed up at the scene late Wednesday along with family members.
The man's mother said her son was not well.
She said he "didn't know what was going on, he was sick."
"Just because he missed him with the Taser the first time, they get f***ing mad? They got mad, and shot him?" she said. "There was no reason for that. There was no reason."
The Lake County Major Crimes Task Force continued to investigate the case.
