Chicago

Activists to Rally After Officer Fatally Shoots Bar Security Guard

Activists will gather Tuesday for a rally after a police officer fatally shot a security guard at a suburban Chicago bar over the weekend.

The event will be held in the afternoon at the Midlothian police station, with participants calling accountability for the officer who shot 26-year-old Jemel Roberson early Sunday.

Authorities said Roberson was working security at Manny's Blue Room in Robbins when police responded around 4 a.m. to a call of shots fired.

Midlothian Police said they arrived to find multiple gunshot victims at the bar and an officer at the scene opened fire on "a subject with a gun." That man was Roberson, an armed security guard at the venue.

Four other people, including a man believed to have fired a gun during the initial shooting, were shot and wounded before police arrived, but their injuries weren't considered life-threatening, authorities said.

Roberson's family filed a lawsuit Monday, alleging that he had "apprehended one of the perpetrators and was holding him" when the Midlothian officer came on the scene and fatally shot the guard. Police have not confirmed that account.

The federal civil rights lawsuit names a Midlothian police officer, identified only as John Doe, and the village of Midlothian, calling the killing "unprovoked" and "unjustified."

Roberson - the only person killed in the shooting - was licensed to carry a firearm, Cook County sheriff's spokeswoman Sophia Ansari said. No details have been released about the officer.

Family members said Roberson was a family man who had been working in security for several years. He also played the organ in multiple churches in the Chicago area.

Robbins police Chief Roy Wells told reporters Sunday the initial shooting stemmed from an argument.

The Village of Robbins Mayor Tyrone Ward, issued a statement saying, "the Village of Robbins Department of Inspectional Services, along with the Office of the Mayor has ordered the nightclub temporarily closed pending the outcome of a review and full examination of the facility."

Family members gathered for a prayer vigil Monday night at the bar.

"I'm not here to get no sympathy," his girlfriend's mother Tequiee Cross said. "I'm here to get justice."

A GoFundMe for Roberson's funeral expenses had raised more than $49,000 as of Tuesday morning.

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