BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (WMBD) — A Normal teen was shot and killed Tuesday night during an officer-involved shooting in southwest Bloomington, the McLean County Coroner said.
Kathleen Yoder said 15-year-old Cole L.M. Turner died from multiple gunshot wounds stemming from the Tuesday night incident in the 800 block of Arcadia Drive. The shooting, she said, occurred around 5 p.m.
Per state law, toxicology tests were done and those results are pending, she said.
Officers with the Bloomington Police Department responded Tuesday afternoon to a call about a armed man in the 700 block of Freemont Drive which is the southwester portion of the city.
When they arrived, officers made contact with a person there. Somehow, things escalated and shots were fired. The officers’ bullets struck the person in question, police have said.
The person was pronounced dead at the scene by the McLean County Coroner.
When reached Wednesday afternoon, Bloomington police spokesman Bryce Janssen released the following statement:
“We understand there are many questions surrounding Tuesday’s officer-involved shooting, and we are committed to supporting an unbiased, fair, thorough and lawful investigation. The Illinois State Police, Division of Criminal Investigation, is leading the investigation in accordance with state-mandated protocols, ensuring an independent and impartial review. To protect the integrity of this process, we are directing all inquiries to them and will continue to fully cooperate and support their efforts.”
Per state law, the state police investigates all officer-involved shootings to avoid any sense of bias or conflict.
The state police will conduct their investigation and when it’s done, turn over their findings to the McLean County State’s Attorney who will make a final decision on whether the incident was within the bounds of police protocols.
Under Illinois law, police are allowed to use deadly force if an officer “reasonably believes, based on the totality of the circumstances, that such force is necessary to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or another.”
The shooting was the second officer-involved shooting in McLean County this month. On Feb. 6, while trying to take two people into custody at a Lexington gas station, a Chenoa police officer and two state troopers shot Ryan Aeron Stanley Hurst, 18, after he pointed a gun at them.
Hurst survived and has since been charged in McLean County Circuit Court with attempted murder, aggravated discharge of a firearm at a peace officer and aggravated assault at a police officer, according to online court records.
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