NAPERVILLE, Ill. – An Illinois police officer fatally shot a hatchet-wielding man who showed up during a traffic stop and attacked him, police said.
The Naperville Police Department said an officer was conducting a traffic stop about 11 a.m. Friday near the intersection of Bond Street and McDowell Road when he was attacked.
During the car stop, an unrelated vehicle pulled up next to the vehicle the officer had pulled over, ABC 7 Chicago reported.
Police released a still image from the officer’s bodycam video that showed a male white suspect in his 20s, dressed in all black clothing, exiting his vehicle and charging the officer.
“A man quickly exited the vehicle and charged at the officer with a hatchet in his hand,” Naperville Police Chief Jason Arres said.
The officer, a 22-year-veteran of the Naperville Police Department, drew his weapon and fired at the charging suspect in order to defend himself.
The attacker was transported to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The identity of the deceased suspect was withheld, and the police agency blurred his face in the released image, Fox News reported.
According to the Naperville Police Department, the officer was not injured during the attack.
The DuPage County Metropolitan Emergency Response and Investigative Team (MERIT) and the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office were immediately notified and are conducting an independent investigation into the officer-involved shooting, Chief Arres said.
The local news outlet ABC 7 spoke with the attacker’s brother. He was not able to shed light on why all of this took place, but offered, “We are sorry to everyone involved.”
The city of Naperville is a suburb west of Chicago that has about 145,000 residents.
