Cops: Fatal shooting by guards in Richton Park ‘appears justified’
August 13, 2012 3:02PM
Updated: September 15, 2012 6:14AM
A 19-year-old Chicago Heights man was fatally shot Saturday night and an 18-year-old Homewood man was injured after the 19-year-old allegedly fired a handgun at security officers in Richton Park, officials said.
The gunman, identified as Sean D’Angelo Smith, of the 200 block of West Elmwood Drive, was shot by the security officers and pronounced dead at the scene at 4 a.m., authorities said. The fatal shooting “appears to be justified,” Richton Park police chief Elvia Williams-Yancey said Monday.
An autopsy conducted Sunday determined that Smith died from multiple gunshot wounds, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
Smith was a passenger in a car driven by Kentrail Bey, 18, of Homewood, who also was shot and was treated and released at St. James Hospital and Health Centers in Olympia Fields, Williams-Yancey said.
Bey was charged with possession of marijuana, posted bond and was released by Richton Park police Sunday, she said.
Two other passengers in the vehicle were unharmed, according to police.
Sometime before 11:30 p.m., security officers at the Lioncrest Townhomes subdivision allegedly saw a passenger inside a vehicle fire a handgun into the air multiple times near the intersection of Euclid Lane and Brighton Court, Richton Park police said.
The security officers confronted the people inside the vehicle, and Smith got out and allegedly pointed the gun at the guards, police said.
He ignored orders by the security officers to drop the weapon and instead fired at the guards, who returned gunfire, police said.
“It’s a tragedy,” Williams-Yancey said. “A young man made a poor decision and it cost him his life.”
Williams-Yancey said the investigation is continuing, but she does not expect additional charges.
“It looks like it was just a fight between the security guards and Smith. Witnesses said Smith shot at (the security guards),” she said.
Richton Park police were not involved in the shooting, but handled the arrest and investigation, Williams-Yancey said. The guards work for a private company that has a contract with Lioncrest Townhomes, police said.
Sun-Times Media Wire, staff reports
