Early one Sunday morning in November, 2018, police responding to reports of gunfire at Manny’s Blue Room Lounge in Robbins, Illinois shot and killed an armed security guard.

As with most violent encounters, facts remain murky to this day. Not because of a conspiracy or cover-up, but because things happen fast in the heat of the moment and witness reports are almost always unclear and frequently contradictory.

We’re not here to pass judgement, in part because that’s impossible at this point in the investigation. Instead, we will endeavor to show just how easily the good guys can get hurt, or even killed, in the heat of a gunfight that ends with armed police response.


The Jemel Roberson Shooting

During the evening spanning Nov. 10 and 11, a fight broke out in the club. Sometime later, one of the verbal assault participants opened fire and shot four people.

Two security guards, Dorian Myrickes and Jemel Roberson were involved in the encounter. Some reports indicate that Roberson was dressed all in black with no visible “security” markings. Other reports say he was wearing a hat embossed with “Security.” There seems to be general agreement that Myrickes and Roberson were in fact doing their job trying to maintain order and protect patrons of the bar.

Roberson possessed a Firearms Owners Identification card and a Security Guard license, so he was legally armed. What’s still murky is whether the club in question was an authorized security employer.

To make a long story short, the initial altercation ended with Roberson holding a gun on the suspected shooter when police arrived. Soon after, a responding officer shot Jemel Roberson, who died on the way to the hospital.

Read the rest: Range365