CHICAGO — It began in a way gun advocates have suggested would curtail violence. A gun comes out. Shots are fired. A “good guy with a gun” steps in to help before police can respond.
The tidy theoretical doesn’t account for the chaotic unknowns when police arrive and can’t tell a “good guy” with a gun from a “bad guy” with a gun.
The theory turned to grim reality at Manny’s Blue Room Bar in Robbins, Ill., outside Chicago early Sunday.
Police shot and killed the good guy. Jemel Roberson, 26, was working security.
“Everybody was screaming out, ‘He was a security guard,’ and they basically saw a black man with a gun and killed him,” witness Adam Harris told WGN.
That debate has gained urgency during the past year, as President Trump and others have repeatedly said security guards — specifically armed ones — could have prevented the nation’s mass shootings; earlier this year, Trump tweeted his support for the controversial idea of arming teachers.
And the Sunday incident has already provoked concerns that black men, even when legally carrying firearms or employed in a position that allows their use, can still become a target for police fire.
Roberson’s friends said he had talked all his life of becoming a police officer himself.
Details about the Illinois shooting were unclear Monday. Midlothian Police Chief Daniel Delaney said in a statement that officers from his department and the Robbins Police Department responding to a shooting found multiple victims inside the bar.
The statement said the “Midlothian officer encountered a subject with a gun” and shot him.
Delaney did not elaborate on what occurred before the police response.
The incident began with a confrontation involving several men, and a man left to retrieve a gun. He returned to the bar and opened fire, striking several people, the Chicago Tribune reported, citing remarks from Robbins Police Chief Roy Wells. At least four others were injured.
Roberson returned fire and apprehended one suspect, the Tribune reported, as officers from suburban police departments responded.
It is unclear how the killing unfolded from there — how and whether officers identified themselves, whether Roberson was holding a gun, or how much time passed before the officer fired at Roberson, who was pronounced dead at a hospital.
Illinois State Police will investigate Roberson’s killing by the Midlothian officer. Delaney did not answer a question about the administrative status of the officer.
More than half of those killed — 459 people, including Roberson — were said to have a gun when police killed them.
The oldest of four children, Roberson grew up in Wicker Park, a neighborhood in the North Side of Chicago located about 27 miles from Robbins. His family said he was in law school and served as a positive role model for his peers, inspiring young men to become involved with the church.
“He was dedicated to the Wicker community in a real positive way.” said Malik Harris, Roberson’s 20-year-old cousin.
Roberson’s friends and family say they are planning a way to memorialize him. According to the AP, Roberson’s mother, Beatrice, filed a lawsuit seeking $1 million from the community and officer who shot her son.
Justin Jouvenal and Wesley Lowery contributed to this report.