Joliet police shot and wounded an armed man after responding to a domestic battery call Tuesday evening in the southwest suburb, authorities said.
When police officers arrived at a residence in the 2400 block of Rockwood Drive, they saw a man armed with an assault weapon and a rifle, Joliet Police Department Deputy Chief Edgar Gregory told reporters at the scene around 11 p.m. The exact time of the shooting was not immediately available.
The man then pointed his weapon at the police officers, Gregory said.
“Fearing for their lives, (officers) fired in retaliation,” he said to a reporter on scene.
The man was wounded and taken to Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox with what appeared to be life-threatening injuries, according to Gregory. He added that the man, who was taken into custody, was conscious and talking at the hospital.
No one else was injured as a result of the shooting. At the time of the incident, the man’s wife and his brother were also in the house, Gregory said.
After the incident, officers stayed at the scene in order to get a search warrant for the man’s house, which they were told had numerous other weapons in addition to the two he had on him, according to Gregory.
Gregory emphasized that the shooting was an isolated incident and residents in the area were safe.