Off-Duty Cook County Deputy Fatally Shoots Teen Accused Of Robbing Salon

CHICAGO, IL — An off-duty Cook County sheriff's deputy fatally shot a teenage boy who was allegedly robbing a South Side beauty salon Wednesday afternoon, according to ABC 7 Eyewitness News. Rashad Wells, 17, of the 6900 block of South Harvard Avenue was pronounced dead at the scene, the Chicago Tribune reports. But family and neighbors don't believe the boy was involved in a robbery.

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The incident happened at around 1:39 p.m. at a salon in the 100 block of West 69th Street in the Englewood area. According to Chicago police, who are investigating the shooting, two men tried to rob Marquita’s Hair Salon when the deputy open fired on the alleged robbers, ABC 7 reports.

Her shots hit Rashad, but the other suspect fled the scene, the report stated. It's unclear if the escaped suspect also was wounded, the report added. The Cook County Sheriff's Office told the ABC 7 that the deputy was not injured in the shooting.

But a woman who identified herself as Rashad's mother said the boy was walking home from school, where she had dropped him off in the morning, the Tribune reports.

"He's very familiar with the neighborhood, and just the idea of him robbing his neighbor when he's, when everyone knows him is cause for speculation, for pause," Eric Russell, executive director of Tree of Life Justice League of Illinois, a police accountability advocacy group, told ABC 7.

More via ABC 7 Eyewitness News and the Chicago Tribune

UPDATED (10:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 17)

Image via Cook County Sheriff's Office

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