Man suspected in armed carjacking shot by police on South Side - Chicago News and Weather | FOX 32 News

An unarmed man suspected of stealing a muscle car at gunpoint was shot and killed by Chicago Police during a foot chase on the South Side Monday afternoon, authorities said.

The man, whose identity has not been released, was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in critical condition after the shooting and died a short time later, the Cook County Medical Examiner's office has confirmed.

Officers shot the man because he was holding a dark object in his hand that police believed was a gun, police News Affairs said in a statement about the 1:45 p.m. shooting.

However, that dark object -- which the man raised toward the two officers -- turned out not to be a weapon, said Pat Camden a spokesman for the Fraternal Order of Police.

An officer gets "that mental image of somebody who takes a vehicle at gunpoint and later he's reaching for something in the car -- the picture is pretty well painted," Camden said.

Police first spotted the man driving the gray Dodge Charger with out-of-state plates west on East 75th Street in the South Shore neighborhood, Camden said.

While a license plate check indicated no problems, an alert was broadcast seconds later describing a gray Dodge Charger with out-of-state plates that was taken in an armed carjacking, Camden said.

Camden said the two officers followed the car and approached it on foot when it was boxed-in by traffic at a stop light near the corner of East 75th Street and South Jeffery Boulevard, Camden said.

After ordering the man out of the car, police say they saw him reach for an object with his right hand before opening the door and fleeing on foot, Camden said.

During the ensuing foot chase the man turned toward officers with what they incorrectly believed was a gun, Camden said.