Brent Bucholtz Obituary, Death; – Authorities in Highland Park, Illinois, fatally shot a man they reported was wielding a knife during a welfare check early Friday morning.
As per Highland Park officials, officers performed a welfare check on a man found in the roadway in the 900 block of Half Day Road shortly before 5 a.m. A 9-1-1 call alerted them to an individual lying in the middle of the road, who subsequently stumbled into a nearby residence.
Upon arriving at the location, officers encountered a man who reportedly exited the home abruptly while holding a knife. Police stated that the man “quickly charged at officers with a knife,” which led the officers to discharge their weapons.
Authorities indicated that they instructed the man multiple times to drop the knife.
CBS News Chicago reported that three officers were present at the scene during the incident, but it remains unclear how many of them discharged their firearms.
The Highland Park Fire Department arrived shortly thereafter and attempted to stabilize the man. Officials reported that life-saving efforts were unsuccessful, and the man was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Lake County Coroner’s Office identified the deceased as 59-year-old Brent Bucholtz. Autopsy findings revealed that he succumbed to multiple gunshot wounds. Neighbor Maureen Hughes, a resident of the area for 20 years and living several houses down from the incident, remarked that the scene appeared and sounded unrecognizable. She recounted being awakened by the sound of several gunshots.
“Bam, bam, bam…then it stops,” she stated. “But it was clearly gunshots.” Residents noted that the man was recognized for the controversial signs displayed outside his home. “He has these signs up and then down and then up and down. They’re very controversial,” Hughes commented.
Aside from the one residence encircled by police tape, the neighborhood appears to have returned to normal, although the atmosphere feels different. “Highland Park and I have a neighbor dead in their driveway? I just never think that’s going to happen,” Hughes expressed. The Lake County Major Crime Task Force stated the
