ONARGA, Ill. — An Iroquois County sheriff's deputy shot a 29-year-old man on Wednesday evening after, according to the sheriff's police, the man charged at deputies with a knife inside a Chestnut Street home where deputies had been called because he needed a psychological evaluation. The Illinois State Police are now investigating the shooting.
Source: WCIA, reporting the Iroquois County Sheriff's Police release
Called to 213 N. Chestnut for a psychological evaluation
On the evening of Wednesday, October 28, Iroquois County Sheriff's Police deputies were dispatched to 213 N. Chestnut in Onarga for a male subject inside the residence who needed a psychological evaluation, the sheriff's police said in a news release. The man was identified as Julian Munoz, 29.
When deputies arrived, they encountered Munoz on the roof of the home. He was armed with a knife and was damaging property at the residence, including glass windows, according to the release.
Deputies were able to talk Munoz back inside the residence and off the roof. That first de-escalation worked — he came down and went back in — the release says.
De-escalation failed, and a deputy fired
Inside the home, deputies attempted to further de-escalate the situation but were unsuccessful, the sheriff's police said. Munoz ultimately charged at deputies with the knife, and one Iroquois County deputy discharged their sidearm, striking Munoz.
Deputies called for EMS and rendered aid to Munoz at the scene. He was transported to Riverside Hospital. The sheriff's release does not state his condition, does not name the deputy who fired, and does not report any injury to a deputy.
Source: Iroquois County Times-Republic via Newsbug
Munoz's medical condition, the deputy's name, how many shots were fired, and whether body-camera or other video exists have not been released. Those are among the questions the State Police investigation is expected to answer.
State Police take over the shooting investigation
At the sheriff's request, Illinois State Police Zone 5 Investigations and the Illinois State Police Crime Scene unit were brought in to handle the investigation — the standard arrangement in Illinois when a local deputy is involved in a shooting, so that the deputy's own agency does not investigate itself. When WCIA contacted the State Police, the agency declined to comment further and referred questions back to the Iroquois County Sheriff's Police press release.
What Munoz faces when he leaves the hospital
Upon his release from the hospital, Munoz will be placed under arrest for aggravated assault and booked into the Iroquois County Jail, the sheriff's police said. There he will await a court appearance and a pretrial detention hearing, at which a judge will decide the conditions under which he is held while the case proceeds.
A mental-health call that turned violent
Onarga is a small city in Iroquois County in east-central Illinois, along the I-57 corridor. Wednesday's call began not as a crime report but as a request for a psychological evaluation — the kind of call in which deputies are asked to get a person in crisis safely to help. On the sheriff's account, deputies first spent time talking Munoz down from the roof before the confrontation inside the house, and it is that sequence — the talk-down, the failed de-escalation inside, and the charge with the knife — that State Police investigators will now test against the physical evidence and any recordings.
What happens next
Two tracks now run in parallel. The State Police investigation into the deputy's use of force continues, and its findings will determine whether the shooting is judged justified under Illinois law. Separately, once Munoz is released from the hospital, the aggravated-assault arrest the sheriff's police have announced will move him into the Iroquois County court system for a first appearance and a pretrial detention hearing. The aggravated-assault charge is an allegation, and Munoz is presumed innocent of it unless proven guilty in court.