Zion man shot by cops had schizophrenia, dad says

The Zion man who was fatally shot by police Wednesday had schizophrenia and a history of violence, his father said Thursday.

“There had been voices I’d never hear,” Carl Hollstein said of his son, Charles J. Hollstein, 38.

The younger Hollstein also had a history of criminal behavior, court records show.

Charles Hollstein was killed Wednesday morning by Zion police officers responding to a complaint about a man taking photographs at local schools, police said. They found him near 22nd Street and Bethesda Boulevard.

Lakeview Elementary School, an early childhood building for Zion Elementary District 6, and New Tech High @ Zion-Benton East are in the area.

Hollstein was shot in the back during a struggle that followed a foot chase. He was carrying a pellet gun that looked like a real pistol and was wearing a vest equipped with homemade metal inserts, authorities said. Police called the vest body armor.

He died at Vista East Hospital in Waukegan. An autopsy revealed Hollstein was shot three times in the back, Lake County Coroner Dr. Thomas Rudd said.

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