UPDATE: Suspect Dead, Investigator Wounded in Downtown Aurora Gunfight
A 36-year-old Aurora suspect was fatally shot and an investigations officer wounded Thursday night in a gunfight in downtown Aurora.
According to the Aurora Police Department’s preliminary investigation, at approximately 9:45 p.m. Thursday, March 22, two special operations investigators followed a green Chevrolet SUV they had seen leaving a known gang house in the 200 block of South Lake Street.
Santiago Calderon
When the officers pulled the vehicle over in the first block of East Galena Boulevard, the driver of the suspect vehicle, identified as Santiago Calderon, 36, of the 700 block of East Galena, Aurora, fired shots at the officers. Police said Calderon then drove east to the intersection of Galena and Broadway (IL Route 25), where his SUV collided with a 2009 Chevy Malibu being driven by a 19-year-old Aurora man.
Calderon then ran from the car and exchanged gunfire with the two investigators, police said.
During the exchange of gunfire, Calderon was fatally shot in a parking lot on LaSalle Street between Galena and Downer Place. When the officers went to render medical aid to Calderon, a gun was found at his side, according to a post on the Aurora Police Department Facebook page. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
One of the Investigators suffered a graze wound to the leg, while the other investigator suffered a wound to his shoulder when he was taking cover while being fired upon. Police said both were treated and released from an Aurora hospital.
The passenger in the suspect vehicle, a 24-year-old Aurora man, did not flee during the incident. He was taken into custody by responding officers. He was treated and released from an Aurora hospital. He was not charged in the incident and was released by Aurora police early this morning (Friday, March 23).
The 19-year-old man involved in the crash with Calderon refused medical treatment. He was the only occupant in his vehicle.
The Kane County Major Crimes Task Force is handling the officer-involved shooting portion of the investigation. Both investigators are 10-year department veterans. As is the case with any officer-involved shooting, the two Investigators are on paid administrative leave while the case is being investigated.
An autopsy is pending at the Kane County Coroner’s Office.
This is the second fatal officer-involved shooting in Kane County in the past two weeks. The Elgin Police Department on Thursday released body-camera video of the March 12 officer-involved shooting incident in which 34-year-old DeCynthia Clements of Elgin was killed. That shooting is being investigated by the Illinois State Police.
SOURCE: Aurora Police Department news release
