Jun 25, 2008 8:39 pm US/Central
Police Say Dolton Standoff Was Robbery Attempt
Gunman Killed Sales Clerk Before Pointing Gun At Cops, Who Fatally Shot Him
DOLTON, Ill. (Sun-Times Media Wire) ―
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SWAT officers surround Michael Rodgers in Dolton after shooting him as he emerged from a hostage situation, pointing a gun at the officers.
CBS
Jeniel D. Morgan did just what she was supposed to do when a customer with a gun burst into the Dolton insurance office where she was working alone Tuesday.
She hit the panic button.
The button triggered an alarm to Dolton police at 2:20 p.m. Tuesday. Police from several south suburbs swarmed the Illinois Vehicle Insurance building, 1031 E. Sibley Blvd., trying to negotiate with Michael Rodgers, 34, the man holding her hostage.
Before police could reach her, Rodgers beat and stabbed Morgan, a wife and mother of two, shooting her in the thigh inside the office. Police said the brutal attack was captured on a security video.
"She did everything she could," said Dolton Police Chief Robert Fox.
Rodgers had an insurance policy through Illinois Vehicle Insurance, but that was the only connection between the two, Fox said.
With police outside, Rodgers called a family member from inside the office Tuesday, Dolton police said, telling the family member he tried to rob the store and had shot and killed the salesperson.
When police reached Rodgers on his cell phone, he told them he had a hostage and wanted $5,000 and a car. Police said he left the building "with a black semiautomatic handgun in his right hand" and pointed the weapon at police, who fatally shot him three times, police said.
Fox said investigators were still puzzled over Rodgers' motive for the brutal stabbing and beating. He was convicted of misdemeanor battery in 1994, court records said, and had been arrested for larceny and resisting arrest.
Rodgers' father, Willie Rodgers, of Richton Park, said he had no idea why his son, a construction worker, would take a gun to the insurance agency.
"What I do know is that (police) killed him. He came out to surrender, and they shot him down," he said, having watched in horror as his eldest son was gunned down Tuesday afternoon.
Willie Rodgers said his son had called him from the scene of the standoff with police and "told me someone shot him in the chest, and he shot them back."
Illinois State Police are investigating the police shooting.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2009. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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