Illinois cop fatally shoots man rushing at him with axe

Pulse-pounding body camera footage shows the moment an Illinois man lunges towards an officer with an ax during a traffic stop — before he is fatally shot.

The newly-released video, released last week by the Naperville Police department, shows the terrifying June 3 incident.

The officer involved — a 22-year veteran of the force who has not been identified — was conducting a traffic stop when a silver sedan pulled up alongside the officer and the other vehicle, police said.

The driver of the sedan can be heard making an inaudible comment on the body-camera footage, to which the officer responds, “Who are you, dude? Who are you?”

Dash-cam footage from the officer’s squad car shows Edward C. Samaan, 28, the driver of the silver car, open his door as he rolls up to the scene, before closing it, putting his vehicle in park, and then opening it again.

The body-worn camera then shows Samaan wordlessly exit the sedan, and begin to sprint towards the officer, an axe in his right hand. The officer steps backwards and draws his gun, firing the first of six shots at Samaan.

Samaan keels over and hits the ground at the fourth shot.

“Base, I’ve just been attacked, I just–shots fired! shots fired!” the officer radios in.

Meanwhile, Samaan shouts in pain on the ground between the two cars, struggling to get back up.

“Don’t move!” the officer shouts before radioing in again.

Samaan, moaning, moves his arms in an apparent effort to get up again, and the officer trains his gun on the man.

“Oh my God,” the officer says in apparent shock. “Holy Sh-t.”

He then tells the driver from the traffic stop, “Stay in your car, man! Don’t move!”

“He’s down, base,” the officer shouts into his radio. “Send a medic! Send a medic!”

According to police, Samaan was transported to an area hospital, where he was declared dead. The officer was uninjured in the altercation.

An investigation into the incident is active and ongoing, according to police.

Samaan’s brother told Chicago’s ABC 7 that his family is “sorry to everyone involved,” and that they had been speaking with investigators.