2 FBI Agents Shot During Attempted Arrest of Gang Leader

PARK FOREST, IL — Two FBI agents were shot and wounded early Tuesday morning as they executed an arrest warrant in south suburban Park Forest for a man wanted on narcotics trafficking charges.

The FBI agents did not sustain life-threatening injuries, according to an FBI spokesman, but the homeowner, identified as Melin Toran, 50, was killed.

Sources told the Chicago Tribune Toran ranked high in the leadership of the Black P Stone Nation.

The FBI was at the home before 6 a.m. to serve an arrest warrant as part of a sweep of Black P Stone Nation members. The incident prompted Park Forest elementary schools to delay the start of school and issue an advisory to parents to keep their children home. Rich East High School also went on lockdown. The incident began at 5:45 a.m. and the FBI said the scene was secure as of 9 a.m.

Neighbors said they saw agents rush the home.

A neighbor told WGN she awoke to explosions and saw the FBI SWAT team lobbing tear gas into a neighboring home. Erica Harris, who lives across the street, said she saw agents yelling at someone in the Rich Court home to surrender. They had their guns drawn and were crouched behind cars.

A relative was on the scene pleaded for a man inside the home to give up, too, Harris told WGN, adding that a family with four children lives in the home and her own children go to school with them.

"He just refused. He wasn't coming out," Harris said. "We're neighbors. We see each other every day. ... Their daughter is in my daughter's class. This is really mind blowing right now."

Other neighbors told the Tribune that Toran was friendly and a good neighbor.

Toran served time for a 1986 murder, weapons offenses and a drug conviction.

The agents were treated at a hospital and released.

"We're not going to get into any specifics about the arrest warrant or any other specifics inside the house," said Garrett Croon, an FBI spokesman, from the scene.

As of 9:20 a.m., parents were advised students could walk to school and buses would be rolling.

A statement from Park Forest-Chicago Heights School District 163 issued at 8:30 a.m. reads:

Due to an unsafe situation in the community right now, we are advising parents to keep students who walk or ride the bus in the Park Forest area to remain at home until further notice. We will be executing a late start and will update you with further information as the situation is resolved. Students should not be in the vicinity of the intersections of Lakewood, Orchard, Sauk Trail and Westwood avenues.

A subsequent statement from District 163 read:

“We have been notified by the Park Forest Police Dept. that the situation on Rich Court has been resolved. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have presented to parents, however the students' safety is our first concern."

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