A protest erupted Saturday evening after a Chicago police officer fatally shot a man on the city's South Side. (Fox 32 Chicago)
Chicago police fatally shot an armed man Saturday evening, igniting a protest near the scene in the city’s South Shore neighborhood that led to four arrests, officials said.
Officers on foot tried to question the man when the confrontation developed and he was shot, Chicago Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said.
Police said the man had been “exhibiting characteristics of an armed person.”
They later determined that the man was carrying a semiautomatic weapon for which he did not have a concealed carry permit, and also possessed magazines of ammunition, Chicago Police Patrol Chief Fred Waller told reporters.
"The bulge around his waistband" suggested the unidentified man was armed.
The man became combative and eventually broke free from the officers, Waller said.
"They thought he appeared to be reaching for a weapon, which he did have a weapon on him, and the officers tragically shot him," he said.
The man was thought to be in his 30s, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. He was pronounced dead at Jackson Park Hospital, a Chicago Fire spokesman said.
No police officers were injured, Guglielmi said.
Some people claimed a female officer shot the man at least five times in the back as he ran away, the newspaper reported.
They said the officer was taken away from the scene in a police vehicle as a crowd of about 100 people formed immediately after the shooting.
The size of the crowd created a tense situation where protesters jostled with police, who then cordoned off the area.
A brief scuffle broke out between chanting protesters and police officers holding batons.
"It got a little bit out of hand. Several arrests were made," Waller said.
Guglielmi tweeted that four protesters were arrested.
Some protesters jostled with police, who then cordoned off the area on Saturday, July 14, 2018. (Fox 32 Chicago)
The Sun-Times reported that officers hit at least one man with a baton, while some protesters punched back and others threw glass bottles at officers.
Several officers were injured from rocks and the thrown bottles, Guglielmi tweeted.
The Chicago Tribune reported that a chaotic scene erupted as the crowd chanted “Murderers!”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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