Will County SWAT Shot Gunman As He Exited Romeoville Bank: Police

ROMEOVILLE, IL — A Will County SWAT team officer shot a gunman as he was walking out of a Romeoville bank on Tuesday, police said Wednesday, but local law enforcement agencies are not offering any more details about the incident 24 hours after police and the FBI were called to the scene.

The Will County Sheriff's Office did not say what prompted the SWAT officer to fire, and deferred further questions to the Illinois State Police, who declined to offer specifics when contacted by Patch on Wednesday.

“There is no more information available at this time,” a state police spokesperson told Patch in an email on Wednesday afternoon, adding that Patch would be "looped in" once more information was being provided by investigators.

Romeoville Police said Tuesday night that the man — whose identity has not been released by the Will County Coroner — died after being taken to a local hospital. Will County officials said that they were still attempting to contact the man's family members and are not currently releasing his identity.

In a news release issued Tuesday night, police said that the man who entered the Fifth Third Bank on South Weber Road shortly after 3:30 p.m. "engaged" with police before being shot once by a Will County SWAT team officer. When asked specifically whether shots were exchanged between police and the man inside the bank, the Romeoville Police Department directed Patch to the state police.

A spokesperson for the Romeoville Police Department said that the department would be issuing a statement with further details Wednesday afternoon. The spokesman referred all other questions to the state police, as did the Will County Sheriff’s Office.

As of Wednesday evening, Romeoville police officials had not provided an update.

Romeoville Police said on Tuesday that officers were called to the bank after a man who was armed inside the bank demanded that officers be called. Police said the man had taken hostages inside the bank, but that he released them after negotiations with Romeoville officers. Police also said hostages told officials that “multiple” shots were fired inside the bank.

The Will County Sheriff’s Office said it would generally request the investigation be turned over to the Will/Grundy County Major Crimes Task Force. But a release said that the SWAT team involved in the incident is made up of several officers from multiple police agencies, and that officials requested the State Police to avoid a conflict of interest.