Harvard Police shoot, kill man during fatal domestic stabbing attack

A Harvard police officer shot and killed a man who was stabbing a woman to death late Saturday night, according to a release from Chief Tyson Bauman.

The man was pronounced dead at the scene. Police have not identified him or the stabbing victim, pending autopsies, Bauman said in an interview.

Police were called at 11:26 p.m. Saturday to the 700 block of Dewey Street for a domestic disturbance. Officers arriving to the call found the man armed with a knife over the top of a woman, according to the report.

Police commanded the man to drop the knife, which he refused, and an officer discharged their firearm, striking the man, according to the report.

Paramedics were called and lifesaving measures were performed at the scene, police said. The woman was taken to Harvard Mercy Hospital were she was pronounced dead from her injuries.

The officer who shot the man is on administrative leave pending the shooting investigation, Bauman said Sunday.

Five officers responded to the initial domestic disturbance call.

“We were heavily staffed because of Milk Days” Harvard’s annual community festival, which concludes Sunday, Bauman said.

Bauman believes it is the first officer-involved fatal shooting in at least the past 25 years.

McHenry County Major Investigation Assistance Team is handling the shooting investigation, according to the release.