Authorities have identified the murder suspect who was fatally shot by police after he opened fire on the officers Tuesday afternoon in Beach Park.
An autopsy showed Brandon Gardner, 24, of Beach Park, died as a result of injuries received from a gunshot wound, according to Lake County Coroner Dr. Howard Cooper.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office Warrants Team and U.S. Marshals were executing an arrest warrant around 12:30 p.m. in the 12500 block of West Beach Road.
Lake County Sheriff Spokesman Sgt. Christopher Covelli said that Gardner exited a vehicle in the driveway of a home and began shooting at officers with a pistol.
Two officers with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Warrants Team returned fire and struck the man. It is unknown how many times the man had been shot.
They began CPR on Gardner and paramedics transported him to Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan where he was pronounced dead.
Gardner was a fugitive wanted for first-degree murder of an 18-year-old man in Zion in 2018, officials said at a press conference.
Five ambulances responded to the scene. One of the officers involved suffered an arm injury and another needed an evaluation, Covelli said. Both were transported to a local hospital.
Heavy police activity from multiple different law enforcement agencies remained at the scene for several hours investigating the incident.
The Lake County Major Crimes Task Force is conducting an independent investigation of the shooting along with the Lake County Coroner’s Office, according to Heather Cognac, a spokeswoman for the task force.