Man Shot by Officers at Mall in North Riverside Has Died: Police

Police tape was seen around a Burlington Coat Factory at a mall in North Riverside

A man who was shot by police as he allegedly held an elderly man at knifepoint at a suburban mall Tuesday has died, authorities confirmed. 

The 41-year-old man was pronounced dead just before 5 p.m. Tuesday at Loyola University Medical Center, according to North Riverside police. 

Officers shot the man after he allegedly attempted to rob a bank and held an elderly man at knifepoint as a human shield inside a Burlington Coat Factory in suburban North Riverside, authorities said. 

No bystanders were injured during the incident, the North Riverside Police Department said in a news release.

Officers responded to an attempted bank robbery at TCT Bank on the 7200 block of West 24th street about 12:28 p.m., police said.

“Officers made contact with the suspect walking north along the strip stores east of TCF bank and ordered him to the ground,” the release reads. “The suspect ignored the officer’s commands, removed an object from his pocket and pointed it directly at them.”

Police said the man then fled on foot into the Burlington Coat Factory where he then pointed the object at police several times. The man then grabbed an elderly bystander and held him “at knifepoint in an attempt to use him as a human shield,” police said.

“The man resisted and pulled away from the suspect enough to allow officers to discharge their firearms striking the offender,” the release says.

One witness, Frank Tortorich, reported a man walked into a store before being swarmed by police. He said he heard five or six shots fired in the area at the time.

The Illinois State Police Public Integrity Task Force is now investigating. The two officers involved in the shooting are on paid leave pending the results of the investigation. 

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