Burglary suspect shot by police after fleeing in squad car
Illinois State Police announced they are investigating an officer-involved shooting of a man alleged to be committing a burglary in Herod who then fled in a deputy's car to Eichorn before an encounter that resulted in the man being shot.
ISP Division of Criminal Investigation Zone 7 is conducting an independent investigation at the request of the Hardin and Pope County sheriff's departments into the shooting that took place on Sunday, Feb. 21, 2020 on Illinois 34 at the north edge of Eichorn in Hardin County.
According to ISP District 22, at about 10:12 p.m. on Feb. 20, 2021, a Pope County deputy responded to the scene of a possible burglary in the 900 block of Illinois Route 34 in Herod in Pope County.
The male suspect fled the scene, allegedly by stealing the deputy's vehicle, an unmarked squad car.
Deputies from the Hardin and Pope County sheriff's departments located the vehicle abandoned at about 10:30 a.m. on Feb. 21, 2021 Illinois 34 at the north edge of Eichorn. Deputies from Pope and Hardin County sheriff's departments located the suspect about 50 yards from the squad car and attempted to take him into custody. After a brief encounter, the deputies fired their duty weapons at the suspect, who was struck. Officers rendered medical attention while emergency medical personnel responded.
The suspect was flown directly from the scene to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to ISP.
No officers or bystanders were injured and the shooting remains under active investigation. At this time, the name of the subject is not being released, pending further investigation and potential charges. Once completed, the ISP DCI - Zone 7's officer involved shooting investigation will be turned over to the Hardin and Pope County state's attorney's offices for review.
ISP DCI Zone 7 is leading this open and ongoing investigation with the assistance of Hardin and Pope County sheriff's departments. No additional information is available at this time.
All subjects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.