Police officers in the north suburbs shot and killed a 59-year-old man who charged them with a knife Friday morning, according to the city of Highland Park and the Lake County Major Crime Task Force.
A concerned driver reported to Highland Park Police around 4:55 a.m. Friday that someone lying in the road was nearly struck by a vehicle, the task force said in a news release. The caller told police that the individual “stood up and stumbled” into a residence in the 900 block of Half Day Road.
The three police officers who responded to the scene couldn’t find the man outside, the task force said. They then knocked on the door of the residence to check the well-being of the person. A man — later identified as 59-year-old Brent Bucholtz, who lived at the home — “abruptly exited” armed with a knife, the task force said.
Police said they retreated and asked Bucholtz multiple times to drop the knife. Bucholtz instead advanced toward the cops with the knife raised, the task force said. When Bucholtz continued charging at the officers and “threatening them with the knife,” the officers shot him, the task force said.
Officers requested paramedics, and the Highland Park Fire Department arrived at the scene at 5:04 a.m., the city said in a news release. Bucholtz was pronounced dead at the scene. The Lake County coroner’s office confirmed in an autopsy that he died from multiple gunshot wounds.
The 900 block of Half Day Road was closed between Western Avenue and Compton Avenue due to police activity, the city said. They asked people to avoid the area to allow investigators to work.