4-Year-Old, Man Killed By Cop Responding To Domestic Incident, Illinois State Police Say

MACOMB, IL — A 4-year-old and a man who was holding the child at knifepoint were fatally shot by an officer responding to a domestic incident in downstate Macomb, according to authorities.

The man was identified by state police citing the McDonough County coroner’s office as 57-year-old Anthony T. George. Per coroner’s office policy, the child’s name will not be released, police said.

The officer who fired the deadly shot was responding to multiple 911 calls around 10 p.m. Saturday out of an apartment complex in the 900 block of North Charles Street near Western Illinois University, police said.

Officers arrived, saw blood in a common area and heard screams for help from inside a unit, according to Macomb police, who said the officers announced themselves, forced their way inside and found a 36-year-old woman bleeding from multiple stab wounds. She was taken to receive medical attention, police said.

A man in the apartment was armed with a knife and refused to comply with multiple orders to drop the weapon, according to Macomb police. The man ducked out of view and emerged holding the young child in front of his body with a knife around the 4-year-old’s throat and another around the waist, state police said.

An officer fired one shot, killing the man and child, according to state police.

“On behalf of the Macomb Police Department, I wish to express my deepest sympathies to the families of all involved in this tragic incident,” Macomb Chief Jeff Hamer said in a news release.

The officers involved in the incident were placed on administrative leave pending investigation per department policy, according to Macomb police.

State police were investigating and had reviewed body camera footage, witness interviews and autopsy reports, authorities said. The agency will provide all investigative reports and evidence to the McDonough County State’s Attorney’s Office once its probe is complete, according to state police.