The Lake County Major Crime Task Force did not disclose Saturday what may have provoked a Round Lake police officer to shoot a 22-year-old man armed with a piece of glass Friday night.
Michael Robert Musson was pronounced dead about 11 p.m. at the scene of the shooting, which occurred in the first block of North Macgillis Drive, according to the Lake County coroner’s office. An autopsy was scheduled for Sunday morning.
Musson was holding a piece of glass when confronted by the Round Lake officer, who was alone and the first to arrive in response to 911 calls about someone banging on doors, Detective Chris Covelli, a task force spokesman, said. Officers who arrived after the shooting administered lifesaving measures but could not save Musson, he said.
Covelli would not say how many rounds were fired nor would he release the officer’s name.
The officer was treated for non-life-threatening injuries at an area hospital, and is now on paid administrative leave in accordance with Round Lake regulations regarding officer-involved shootings, Covelli said. The Round Lake Police Department will conduct an internal investigation to ensure department protocol was followed.
The Lake County Major Crime Task Force is handling the criminal side of the investigation, Covelli said.
“The task force will continue to follow up on leads regarding the shooting,” he said. “Once all of the facts, evidence and data is collected regarding the investigation, they will meet with the Lake County state’s attorney’s office so that the state’s attorney’s office can make a determination on the incident itself.”
Musson appeared to have been breaking window glass and lights, and may have tried to force his way into at least one home among the rows of condominiums along that stretch of North Macgillis Drive, Covelli said. Although Musson’s driver’s license says he lived in Grayslake, it’s believed he may have been living with someone near where the shooting occurred, he said.
Musson’s father, Mike Musson, declined to comment on the incident Saturday, other than to say authorities had not yet spoken to him about his son’s death and that they appeared to be “circling the wagons.”
Task force investigators are interviewing 911 callers and other witnesses, Covelli said.
Sandy Bennett said she was babysitting her two grandchildren at her son’s home on Macgillis when she heard what she thought was her grandson dropping a large toy.
“My grandson came up and said somebody was banging on the garage door,” the 72-year-old Niles woman said. She found out later that neighbors also heard someone pounding on the doors of their homes, she said.
She saw a figure she could not identity as a man or woman walking away in a wooded area in front of her son’s home before she called 911, Bennett said. She believes barking from the family dog scared the person away.
The officer involved the shooting was not wearing a body camera, Covelli said. The squad car they drove to the scene is equipped with a dashboard camera, but it wasn’t disclosed if it recorded video of the incident.
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Covelli said investigators are piecing together where Michael Musson was before the incidents occurred, and what might have contributed to his behavior. Blood work from the coroner’s autopsy will determine if drugs or alcohol were in his system at the time of the shooting, but it could take some time before results are available, he said.
Nick Swedberg is a freelance reporter for the Lake County News-Sun.