Bloomington Police officers shot and killed a suspect Tuesday afternoon on the city’s southeast side. State Police are investigating.
The incident happened around 4:45 p.m. Tuesday, when officers responded to a report of an armed subject in the 700 block of Fairmont Drive, Bloomington Police said. That’s near Oakland Avenue and Veterans Parkway, just a few blocks away from State Farm corporate headquarters. The public was asked to avoid the area Tuesday night. (State Police listed the location of the incident as the 800 block of Arcadia Drive, which is very close to Fairmont Drive.)
Bloomington Police say that officers encountered the subject after arriving on scene. Police say an officer or officers fired their weapons, hitting the suspect. The statement from Bloomington Police on Tuesday night did not explain what else preceded the shooting.
The suspect was pronounced dead at the scene. Their name, age or other information have not yet been released.
No officers were injured, police said.
State Police were called to conduct an “independent investigation regarding the use of deadly force, per Illinois law,” Bloomington Police said.
This appears to be the first fatal police shooting in McLean County since Feb. 24, 2024, when State Police troopers shot and killed a suspect on Interstate 55 near Lexington. In that case, police released squad-car camera footage of the shooting within two weeks. That footage showed an armed man pointing what appeared to be a gun at officers before being fatally shot as others nearby scrambled for cover.
Earlier this month, State Police troopers shot an armed-robbery suspect who allegedly opened fire on officers at a gas station in Lexington. The suspect, from Arkansas, was recently charged with attempted murder and other counts. He's now out of the hospital and in jail.
The most recent fatal police shooting in Bloomington-Normal was Aug. 30, 2021, when a suspect began shooting people at a north Normal mobile home park. Two victims died and three others were seriously or critically injured. Police shot and killed the suspect — actions that McLean County's top prosecutor later called "heroic" and "justified."
This story will be updated.
