Police: Man fatally shot by Des Plaines officer was armed with ax

Bodycam footage shows that a 55-year-old man fatally shot by a Des Plaines police officer Wednesday night was armed with an ax and approaching officers in a threatening manner, police said Thursday.

Video from the bodycam will be released publicly when doing so will not harm an ongoing investigation being conducted by the Major Case Assistance Team, police said.

The Cook County medical examiner's office identified the man killed as Scott MacDonald of Des Plaines.

Police said officers responded to his Thacker Street address about 7:30 p.m. Wednesday to assist paramedics who were attempting to care for MacDonald, who was possibly in the throes of a mental health crisis and was breaking things in a residence.

MacDonald was shot when an officer "unexpectedly encountered" him in a common hallway of the building, police said. MacDonald was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The officer involved in the shooting, who has been with the department for a little more than two years, has been placed on paid administrative leave, police said.

Neighbors describe MacDonald as a caring father and neighbor and were unaware of mental health issues.

Bob Dollar, whose condominium unit is on the same floor as MacDonald's, said his neighbor lived with a high school-aged son.

Dollar said he went out to throw out trash Wednesday night when he encountered the boy in the hallway.

"He said, 'Something's wrong with my dad.' I said, 'Come on, let's go,'" Dollar said. "It happened so fast. I took his son out of here and away from the situation."

MacDonald worked in catering, delivering warm meals to nursing homes and providing food for events, Dollar said.

Pam Schmalzer, whose mother lives on the floor below MacDonald's unit, said she and MacDonald parked next to each other in the building's garage. She said he was kind to her mother.

"He would bring packages up for her. I have his phone number in my phone, if I ever needed anybody," she said. "He used to come down with his son, and his son used to call my mom Grandma."

Schmalzer said she heard a lot of noise upstairs Wednesday night.

"I thought he was going to be doing demo work," she said,

"It's a shock. It's sad. It's a tragedy all the way around," Schmalzer said.

• Daily Herald staff writer Jake Griffin contributed to this story.