Aurora man in critical condition after being shot by police multiple times
CHICAGO (CBS) -- An Aurora man is fighting for his life after he was shot multiple times by police on Sunday. Relatives say it was a mental health situation that spiraled out of control.
The 21-year-old man lives at a home near Colorado Avenue and Elmwood Drive with his grandmother, his girlfriend and their baby.
According to the man's stepmother, an argument between him and his girlfriend got out of control and brought on what she called a "mental health episode."
The family did not know what to do so they called 9-1-1.
As the investigation gets underway, his family wants answers, especially considering that officers -- they say -- were well aware of the mental health situation at the home because they had been called there in the past.
Aurora police said officers responded to the home just after 10:30 a.m. Sunday, and when they arrived, a 21-year-old man was holding knives in the doorway of the home, threatening to kill everyone.
Police also said, when efforts to deescalate the situation were unsuccessful, the man with the knives turned his attention to the responding officers, threatening to kill them.
"The armed subject charged an Aurora police officer, who, while retreating, was forced to discharge their firearm to protect themselves," Aurora Police Chief Keith Cross said.
Neighbors said they saw the man holding only one knife before he was shot.
Relatives say he was struck in the chest, leg, stomach and eye.
According to police, officers immediately rendered first aid until Aurora Fire Department medics arrived.
He was transported to AMITA Health Mercy Hospital where he underwent surgery. He remained in critical condition Monday afternoon.
Aurora police dismissed the family's claims that, when they called 911, it was described as a "mental health situation," explaining they have protocol in place for those cases and it was not applied.
"We have to look at our resources to see if we can actually send someone, but that was not the call that came in," Cross said.
The police chief did acknowledge that officers have been dispatched to the home in the past, but it's unclear if "mental health issues" were involved in those calls.
Aurora Police have turned the investigation over to the Kane County Major Crimes Task Force.
All the officers who responded to the scene on Sunday have been placed on administrative leave as the shooting is investigated.