A man believed to be one of four robbers who held up a truck driver this morning was shot by police a short time later in the city's Back of the Yards neighborhood, authorities said.
The shooting happened just before 11:30 a.m. on the 1600 block of West Garfield Boulevard near a Citgo gas station, police said. Chicago Police Department News Affairs confirmed that police shot someone in that area.
The person was dead, according to some early reports, but that information has not been confirmed by News Affairs or the Cook County medical examiner's office.
Citing preliminary information, authorities said four robbers with guns held up a truck driver near 38th Street and Kedzie Avenue between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m.
The robbers attacked the truck driver, authorities said, but it's not immediately clear if they got away with any proceeds before fleeing the scene.
According to preliminary information, district officers responded to a dispatch call of the robbery in progress, said Pat Camden, a spokesman for the Fraternal Order of Police.
Several suspects in a SUV were reported to have broken into a stopped truck. The driver had gotten out of his truck and confronted the thieves, and they pulled a weapon out, Camden said.
The driver called 911 and told a dispatcher that he was robbed and the robbers may be armed, Camden said.
Witnesses were able to give police a detailed description of the robbers' vehicle -- a silver SUV, authorities said. Officers eventually spotted the SUV and chased it before it struck a light pole at Garfield and Ashland Avenue, authorities said.
Three of the robbers ran from the SUV, authorities said, but the fourth was involved in a confrontation with responding officers at the scene before he was shot.
One of the officers caught one of the fleeing individuals, and the man "body-slammed" the officer to the ground, Camden said.
The other officer went to that officer's aid to try to subdue the suspect, and he saw the suspect reaching for a black metal object that was in his pocket, Camden said.
The officer, fearing it was weapon, fired at the man, Camden said.
That man's condition was not immediately known, but the other three are at large this afternoon.
Both officers were taken to Mercy Hospital and Medical Center, but Camden did not know their conditions. Camden said the suspect, described as in his 20s, was taken to Saint Bernard Hospital and Health Care Center.
Witnesses at the scene said the man was dead, but that has not been confirmed with the medical examiner's office.
When asked if a weapon was found at the scene, Camden said, "Not to my knowledge."
Camden said the shooting was still under investigation.
Authorities said the robbery crew might be linked to another hold-up that occurred earlier this morning, prior to the one at 38th and Kedzie.
dawilliams@tribune.com, jgorner@tribune.com
Twitter: @neacynewslady
Robbery suspect shot by police on South Side
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Robbery suspect shot by police on South Side
