WOOD RIVER - Wood River Police Chief Brad Wells has released some more details of the early Tuesday morning 911 call and subsequent police actions.
“Initially, we received a call from an employee of the Moe’s Corner ZX Gas Station/Convenience Store who was closing, and as she was closing a person asked her for a ride but was really acting suspiciously. She declined to give him a ride and walked across the street to Jack In A Box to make a report about the man and said he showed a gun. Officers searched the area for about a half-hour after that call and then received a call that a man fitting the description of the original person had been seen on a porch.
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“When officers arrived they knew the guy had already flashed a gun and they might be dealing with a man with a gun. When the officers arrived, the man had gone back to Moe's Corner ZX Convenience Store and the male got up and pointed a gun at the officers. He was then shot and the officers performed medical attention on him. The gun is a metal bb gun. They didn’t have time to determine whether or not the gun was real or not. It is all caught on a body camera.
"It is unfortunate this happened, but the officers did what they are supposed to do. You don’t point a gun at a police officer. I back the officers 100 percent. It is an unfortunate situation.”
The Illinois State Police was called to immediately take over the case and investigate the situation.
