Before Sunday, 21-year-old Ketura Wilson from Calumet City was just another girl trying to find her place in the world. “She was just a tender, sweet, silly girl, just silly,” said Erica Wilson’s mother. “She wanted her own little TikTok reputation, but I wanted to do one with your mom.” READ MORE: Calumet woman killed, police officer shot in Oak Forest, officials say What exactly led to the fatal encounter at Food4Less is complicated. Both her family and Illinois police say Wilson suffered from a mental health crisis when she first arrived at the 159th Street mall near Central Avenue armed with a pistol. Oak Forest Police confirmed that they responded to a call from a potential driver who needed help shortly before 11 a.m. The police and her family gathered there. “She was asking people to call the police. The police told me that someone called them because they needed help and they felt they were following her,” said her mother. “Her father, her brother and I, we tried to approach her, to hold her, to make sure she felt safe … the police were very, very hard to help her and they talked and they took time and I take time to talk to her ».
SEE: Erica Wilson describes what led to her daughter’s death
But it did not work. Police were trying to transport Wilson to a hospital for a mental health assessment when she managed to escape, ending up in the parking lot of this Food4Less three-quarters of a mile. “My son was trying to hold her back and he ran to his car to stop her because she was taking off,” said Erica Wilson. At this point Wilson took off on foot in the direction of Food4Less. There, Illinois police said, they fired a shot at police officers who spotted her, firing in their direction and running into the store. RELATED: The shot on the Southwest side leaves 2 critical. gunman shot dead by police after shooting at police: CPD “The voices escalated even more. And then as soon as I heard gunshots. I knew they were gunshots,” said Jackie Human, who also witnessed the incident. Wilson and an Oak Forest police officer were both injured in the altercation and were both taken to local hospitals. Wilson is dead. the policeman remains in the hospital on Monday in serious but stable condition. . About an hour before she died, Wilson entered a weapons area and bought a square from the shooting, demanding to buy bullets. They turned her away. “It came in, it wasn’t right,” said Ali Abdullah, a store manager at Eagle Sports Range. “Troubled, the behavior was sluggish.” Abdullah said that after his employee noticed her strange behavior, he pulled out a pistol that violated the store’s policy. She said her clerk withdrew her and asked her to leave, and she complied. “I’m really proud of our staff who stopped back, because God forbid it could be so much worse than it was,” he said. Wilson’s family confirmed they had a valid FOID card at the time of the incident. Others involved in the shooting are now on administrative duty awaiting the outcome of the investigation into the incident by the Illinois Public Integrity Task Force, as well as the Oak Forest Police Department. And while Wilson’s family does not blame the police, they say more education is needed to deal with those suffering from mental health problems. “Someone has to be called to speak down, to speak to the person. Because I do not think they tried the best they could, but I do not think they did not – I did not know what to do. They did not know what to do. But they tried,” Erika said. Wilson.
If you or someone you know is in a mental health crisis, help is available. Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255, where someone is available to talk to you 24 hours a day.
Copyright © 2022 WLS-TV. All rights reserved.
