Man fatally shot by Chicago Police officers in Belmont Cragin
CHICAGO (Fox 32 News) - A man who was fatally shot by Chicago Police officers Sunday morning in the Northwest Side Belmont Cragin neighborhood has been identified.
About 11 a.m., the man’s parents went to the 25th District police station to report a domestic situation, Chicago Police Deputy Chief Al Nagode told reporters at the scene.
The woman told officers her family member, identified as 24-year-old Brayant Alvarez, was armed with a weapon and she feared for her family’s safety, according to Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
Officers arrived at the 2700 block of North Leclaire and spoke to Alvarez, who was holding his girlfriend and her child against their will in their apartment, authorities said.
The officers got the woman and her child out of the apartment, but Alvarez was uncooperative, authorities said.
A SWAT team was called to the scene and when they arrived, Alvarez left the house and fired a shot at the officers before running north on Leclaire, Nagode said. He ended up on the roof of a garage in the 5000 block of West Wolfram, and fired his weapon again at the officers.
Officers fired five shots, striking Alvarez several times. He was pronounced dead at 11:49 a.m. en route to Community First Medical Center, according to the medical examiner’s office.
An autopsy Monday found he died of multiple gunshot wounds, and his death was ruled a homicide.
No officers were injured, police said.
Gilberto Morales, 62, was working in his garage at the corner of Leclaire and Wolfram when he heard a gunshot and saw police officers running. He grabbed his iPhone and went to the front of his house where police had the man cornered on the back porch of a home across the street.
“I started recording [on Facebook Live] to get a few likes,” Morales said.
Morales filmed the standoff and narrated when he heard a gunshot followed by five more. His heart was beating hard and his hands shaking as he filmed.
“I thought it was exciting,” he said.
When Morales learned Alvarez died, his feelings changed.
“I had to take a moment of silence,” he said. “He’s a person; he’s a human being; he has family. I don’t know how to feel about it now.”
His neighbors, including Linda and Louis Ramirez, said the neighborhood is quiet, with many families with kids living in the surrounding blocks.
“I can’t think of anything like this happening in the 21 years we’ve lived here,” Linda Ramirez said. “We’re all watching out for each other in this area.”
The Independent Police Review Authority, which handles all police-involved shootings, is investigating. The officers involved will be placed on routine administrative duties for 30 days.