Police: Man with rifle killed by police in Vernon Hills domestic dispute

A Vernon Hills police officer responding to a domestic dispute call early Saturday shot and killed a man with a rifle, police authorities said.

Officers were dispatched at approximately 1:38 a.m. to the single-family home on Marimac Lane to meet with a man who was involved in the dispute, authorities said.

"Officers have been called to the house on numerous occasions throughout the years, for a variety of calls, including several domestic-related incidents," said Chris Covelli, spokesman for the Lake County Major Crime Task Force.

An officer arrived and encountered a man armed with a rifle inside the garage.

"During the encounter, the police officer engaged the man and fired at him. The man was struck and subsequently pronounced deceased at the scene," Covelli said in a news release.

The Lake County coroner's office will conduct an autopsy Monday morning, he said, and the man's name may be released Sunday.

Per procedure, the Lake County Major Crime Task Force will independently investigate the shooting.

The officer was taken to a local hospital for evaluation and released. Task force investigators will likely interview him next week, Covelli said.

"Once that interview is complete, we should be able to release more information," he said.

The officer's name typically is not released until the state's attorney issues his official finding on the incident, he said.

The sound of gunshots awoke Sybil Fowler, who has lived in the neighborhood about 6½ years.

"I thought it was somebody banging on my door," said Fowler, who lives across the street from where the shooting took place.

From their window, Fowler's fiance saw a squad car outside the house, she said, adding that squad cars, ambulances and a fire truck -- all with flashing lights but no sirens -- arrived on the scene within a minute.

A man who entered the house carrying mail about 11:30 a.m. said his daughter lives there, but he didn't know what happened. He declined further comment.

Mark Lupa, who lives nearby, said squad cars and ambulances have been to the house about 10 times in the eight years he has lived in the neighborhood.

"Nothing like this ever happens here," Lupa said. "The loudest noise comes from the train."