Elgin police shoot rubber bullet at man

Elgin police shot a rubber bullet at a man who had threatened to take his own life Tuesday afternoon, officials said.

Police spokesman Kristie Hilton said police shot a "less lethal 40-mm round" after the call at 3:33 p.m. on the 800 block of St. Charles Street. The caller said the man had a gun, but no gun was found on him, Hilton said. The man was taken to the hospital for treatment, she said.

Witness Teddy Lopez said he was walking home after work and saw the man sitting under the Route 20 bridge along St. Charles Street. The man appeared to be white, in his late 20s, and had a backpack and a hoodie, Lopez said.

Lopez said he was about 20 to 30 feet away when "all of a sudden there were a bunch of police cars, probably 10 of them. They were yelling that he had a gun."

Lopez, who was told to stay back, said he didn't see a gun. The man didn't comply with police requests to show his hands, which he kept in his pockets, Lopez said.

"He was yelling at (police)," he said. "They kept saying, 'We don't want to hurt you. We don't want to hurt you.'"

The man was shot as he started walking toward police who had taken cover near Ray's Family Restaurant, Lopez said. Police then called an ambulance for the man, Lopez said.