Man shot by Chicago Police in South Shore

A man was shot by a Chicago Police officer early Saturday in the South Shore neighborhood.

About 12:10 a.m., the Area Central gun unit received a call of men with guns near East 71st Street and South Merrill Avenue, said Chicago Police Deputy Chief Berscott Ruiz.

As officers responded, one of four people standing on the corner took off running, Ruiz said.

A chase ensued and an officer saw the 23-year-old man holding a weapon, authorities said. The officer told him to drop the gun and put his hands up, but instead he turned and raised the gun toward the officer, according to police.

The officer then shot the man several times, Ruiz said. A weapon was recovered at the scene and no police officers were injured.

He was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he was in an unknown condition Saturday afternoon, according to Larry Merritt, spokesman for the Independent Police Review Authority. IPRA investigates all police-involved shootings.

Ruiz said witnesses are being interviewed as the investigation is ongoing.

Desiree Carter, 30, who lives in South Shore and identified herself as the man’s cousin, said she doesn’t believe the police narrative.

“He didn’t have no gun,” she said. “The police around here see him every day, they know him, that’s a lie… All he keeps on him is his headphones.”

Carter was one of about a dozen people gathered at the scene early Saturday.

Kesha Williams, 32, said she watched the shooting from her apartment window, where she was sitting while waiting for the father of her children.

“He didn’t do nothing,” Williams said, calling the man “Nunu” — who has a baby on the way — and adding that she knows him from the neighborhood.

She said that “Nunu” was shot six times. Once he was lying on the ground, Williams said an officer put him in handcuffs, then kicked him.

“He didn’t mess with nobody,” Williams said, adding that she didn’t see a gun in his hand.

“He rapped. He liked to walk up and down the street and rap.”

A man was shot by Chicago Police in the 7100 block of South Merrill early Saturday, June 20, 2015. | Ashlee Rezin/for Sun-Times Media

Several people gathered in the 7100 block of South Merrill, where a man was shot by Chicago Police early Saturday, June 20, 2015. | Ashlee Rezin/for Sun-Times Media

An officer ties crime scene tape in the 7100 block of South Merrill, where a man was shot by Chicago Police early Saturday, June 20, 2015. | Ashlee Rezin/for Sun-Times Media

A man was shot by Chicago Police in the 7100 block of South Merrill early Saturday, June 20, 2015. | Ashlee Rezin/for Sun-Times Media