CHICAGO -- A man with a lengthy criminal record who was being sought by Michigan authorities was shot and killed by Canadian National Railway police Monday (March 23) night after he allegedly pointed a gun at an officer in south suburban Homewood, The Chicago Sun Times reported.
At 9:06 p.m., two CN police officers responded to a report of a suspicious man hiding in the bushes along the east side of the CN tracks at Elm Road and Harwood Avenue near the Homewood commuter Metra station, according to CN spokesman Patrick Waldron.
"Arriving at the scene, the officers identified themselves and ordered the man to come forward to them, Waldron said.
"The man refused and ran south along the tracks towards a commuter parking lot, Waldron said.
The man did pause when one of the officers pulled a marked CN squad car into the parking lot in front of him and ordered him to stop, Waldron said, but he then shot at police.
"As the officer got out of his squad car the man pulled out a gun and fired at least one shot at the officer. The officer returned fired striking the offender, according to Waldron, who said no officers were struck and it was not known how many times the suspect was struck.
Robert Sherrill, 48, of the 2900 block of Western Street in Detroit, Mich., was shot by police on the 17800 block of Dixie Highway in Homewood and pronounced dead at Advocate South Suburban Hospital in Hazel Crest at 9:44 p.m., the Cook County Medical Examiner's office said.
Authorities said he was reportedly shot in the neck and chest.
Sherrill has a lengthy criminal record dating back to the late 1970s that includes convictions for breaking and entering, kidnapping, armed robbery and firearms possession. He was paroled on Jan. 2, 2008 and was currently being sought in Michigan as an "absconder" for failing to report to his parole supervisor in a "timely manner," according to the Michigan Department of Corrections Web site.
Sherrill was classified as a parole absconder on Feb. 15.
His most recent conviction was in Oct. 1987 for apparently attempting to escape jail. Previously, he was convicted for a kidnapping, armed robbery and weapons violation that took place April 16, 1979. He was also convicted for breaking and entering a building on Sept. 12, 1977, the Web site said.
Police recovered the suspect's handgun on the scene in Homewood. The second officer was on the scene when the shooting occurred, but it was not clear whether that officer was inside or outside of the squad car, according to Waldron.
Waldron did not know the last time a shooting happened involving CN officers.
"An incident such as this is rare, Waldron said.
Illinois State Police and CN police continue to investigate.
(The preceding article was published March 24, 2009, by The Chicago Sun Times.)
