STING SUSPECT KILLED BY POLICE GUNFIRE

At a gun-purchase sting operation that went awry Thursday afternoon, one
man was killed and another injured when they were shot by police while
trying to rob an undercover informant, authorities said.

Chicago police officers and agents from the Federal Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco and Firearms were trying to set up the suspects by having an
undercover informant arrange a buy in the parking lot of the McDonald's
restaurant at 7832 S. Western Ave. But when the informant met a group of
four men, it was apparent he was the one being set up, police said.

At least one of the men approached the informant with a handgun. Law
enforcement agents watching the parking lot activity approached the men,
announced that they were law enforcement agents and were fired upon at
least once, Chicago police spokesman Kevin Morison said. Chicago police
then shot the two men, Morison said.

Two other men were arrested as they tried to flee.

One of the wounded men, Ernest Hopkins, 27, was pronounced dead at Christ
Hospital and Medical Center in Oak Lawn, police said. The other man,
tentatively identified as Leron Brown, 19, was listed in fair condition, a
nursing supervisor said.

ATF spokesman Jerry Singer defended the decision to meet with the men in a
public place, saying that is how things are normally done.

"The nature of the business, both sides want this done in a well-lit public
area, and the undercover agents are supposed to be in on it," Singer said.
"Most of the times these things go very smoothly, but this time it went
from a buy to an armed robbery situation. And by their very nature, armed
robberies are a violent situation,"

Investigators said the informant was offering nine 9 mm semiautomatic
handguns in exchange for about $3,000 in heroin and cash.

The meeting was set up for the rear of the parking lot between 3 and 4 p.m.
Some details were still sketchy Thursday evening, but according to Chicago
police and Singer, two men pulled up next to the informant's car and
approached him. At least one and possibly both of them approached the
informant with handguns and one shot toward the car. That is when law
enforcement officers returned fire and shot the two men.

One other man was arrested near the scene. Chicago police patrol cars cut
off and arrested another man fleeing in another car on about the 8200 block
of South Western Avenue.

Police believe the targets of the sting had planned from the beginning to
rob the man because they didn't find drugs and cash at the scene.

Thursday was the second deadly police shooting in Chicago in two days.
Wednesday night on the Northwest Side, a police detective returned the fire
of a man running from other officers and killed him.

Gregory Beck, 17, of 5323 W. Foster Ave. died after being shot in the
chest. A formal police investigation probably won't be concluded for some
time, but a spokesman said Thursday that initial interviews suggest the
shooting was justified.