Des Plaines Cops Fatally Shoot Bank Robber, Wound Teen: Police

DES PLAINES, IL — A suspected bank robber shot and killed by police in shootout at a Northwest Side music store Tuesday had earlier escaped police on foot and managed to carjack a Des Plaines woman before leading officers on a high-speed chase down the Kennedy Expressway into Chicago, police said.

Des Plaines police said they got word of an armed robbery at the Bank of America, 1300 E. Oakton St., around 4:30 p.m. Officers were told a masked robber had pointed a handgun at a teller and demanded money be put in a bag.

Witnesses described the getaway car, which was being driven by another robber, Des Plaines police said in a statement. Officers found the getaway car in an alley in the 1900 block of Ash Street, leading to a foot chase. One of the pair was taken into custody but the gunman managed to escape. The person arrested has not been identified by police.

Des Plaines set up a perimeter in an attempt to find the missing gunman, searching the area for several hours with the help of police dogs.

Around 6:45 p.m., officers got word the suspected robber had carjacked a Des Plaines woman in the 1900 block of Pine Street, taking her Buick sedan and fleeing.

With officers maintaining their perimeter in the area, the gunman did not get far, according to police. They immediately spotted the Buick and chased it onto the expressway and east on Interstate 90 to Chicago.

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Police were able to track the robber with the help of a tracking device placed in the money handed over at the bank, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

The pursuit ended when the 32-year-old gunman crashed in the 4300 block of West Irving Park Road shortly before 7 p.m. He got out of his car and opened fire at officers, striking a Chicago police officer in the head.

A Chicago police spokesperson said the bullet passed through the skull of the 46-year-old officer. He is a 17-year veteran of the department, has more than 100 awards for outstanding service, according to WGN, and is currently assigned to the 17th District in Albany Park.

Anthony Riccio, first deputy superintendent of Chicago police, told reporters the teen was most likely struck by a stray bullet fired by a Des Plaines police officer. Chicago police said their officers did not fire any shots during the incident.

The gunman then ran into Upbeat Music and Arts, 4318 W. Irving Park Road, followed by Des Plaines police. In the resulting shootout, the suspected bank robber was shot dead and a 15-year-old Lane Tech High School student was hit in the arm. He was being treated Wednesday at Lurie Children's Hospital, where his condition had been stabilized, according to WGN.

The Cook County medical examiner's office identified the dead gunmen Wednesday as 32-year-old Christopher Terrell Willis, 32, of the 6000 block of South Rhodes Avenue in Chicago.

Records show he was arrested in May and charged with resisting arrest and driving the wrong way down a one-way street, in July on a domestic battery charge and in September on a charge of trespassing. According to the Sun-Times, he was also sentenced to 30 months in state prison after pleading guilty to forgery in 2013.

Police said the incident remained under investigation by Chicago and Des Plaines police with the assistance of the FBI.

UPDATE: Getaway Driver Charged In Robbery That Led To Fatal Shootout: FBI