Woman armed with rifle shot to death by police

GURNEE, Ill. (AP) - A woman was shot to death by suburban Chicago police after she was observed walking along an expressway with a rifle.

Authorities say Gurnee police officers investigating a report of a suspicious vehicle found an auto with an unconscious man and woman inside. When paramedics arrived the unidentified woman drove off with the man inside, striking a fire truck.

Lake County Major Crime Task Force spokesman Christopher Covelli says the car crashed minutes later, and the woman fled on foot.

Gurnee officers located the woman in the southbound lanes of U.S. Route 41, armed with a long-barrel firearm. The woman was wounded when she and the officers exchanged gunfire. She was taken to a Libertyville hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

The man found in the auto was also taken to a hospital, where he was treated and released.