Rockford police shoot, kill man they say wouldn't drop knife, box cutter
ROCKFORD, Ill. (CBS) -- A man was shot and killed by in Rockford early Sunday morning, after police said he refused to drop a knife and a box cutter.
The Winnebago County State's Attorney's office reported that at 12:11 a.m., a woman who lived in an apartment in the 1300 block of Charles Street called 91 to report her neighbor in a nearby apartment was saying things like, "help me," and "kill me."
Two Rockford police officers came to the scene, but could not immediately get in. They called the landlord to get into the common area stairwell, where they found Patrick R. Kirby at the door, the state's attorney's office said.
Kirby had a box cutter and a knife in his hands, prosecutors said. Officers told him to drop the weapons, but he advanced toward them instead, prosecutors said.
An officer fired three wounds at Kirby, and he died of his wounds, prosecutors said.
The Winnebago County Integrity Task Force investigating as per protocol in a police shooting.
