A 21-year-old man was shot Wednesday afternoon after Des Plaines police responded to a report of a domestic disturbance, closing a stretch of Touhy Avenue while investigators processed the scene. The shooting happened just after 2:30 p.m. in the 2000 block of Touhy Avenue, according to police.
Des Plaines police told FOX 32 Chicago that officers had responded to a domestic disturbance call before the shooting occurred. FOX 32 reported that 21-year-old Ayham Babidi was taken to a hospital after being shot and later died. The report did not say whether any officers were injured in the incident.
Touhy Avenue was closed between Des Plaines River Road and Scott Street while officers worked the scene, and police urged motorists to avoid the area and use alternate routes. Police have not released details about what led up to the shooting, and the station notes it will continue to update the story as more information becomes available.
Independent Team Steps In, As State Law Requires
Because the shooting involved Des Plaines officers, the department cannot investigate itself. Under Illinois statutory law, officer-involved shootings resulting in death must be investigated by an independent outside agency rather than the department whose officers were involved, as explained in the statutory overview. That mandate is why the Major Case Assistance Team, rather than Des Plaines police, is leading the review of Wednesday's shooting.
MCAT is a multi-jurisdictional task force made up of more than 20 Cook County suburban police departments that pool detectives, forensic specialists, and tactical resources for major homicides and officer-involved shootings, according to the Cook County Sheriff's Office. The task force has played a similar role in other Des Plaines investigations, including the independent inquiry into a fatal 2023 Des Plaines shooting on Thacker Street, when body camera footage later showed a man in mental health crisis advancing toward officers with an axe, per CBS News Chicago.
The Des Plaines Police Department has been led by Chief David Anderson since December 2020, when he was hired following a national search after Chief William Kushner's retirement, according to the City of Des Plaines. The cited materials do not provide staffing or body-camera totals for the department.
A Corridor With A Recent History Of Gunfire
Wednesday's shooting happened on the same block of East Touhy Avenue where Des Plaines police investigated a December 2023 shooting that prompted nearby Orchard Place Elementary and Iroquois Community School to enter secure status, according to the Journal & Topics Media Group. No injuries were reported in that earlier incident. The Touhy corridor has also seen other recent gunfire, including a June road-rage shooting on I-294 near Touhy Avenue that led Illinois State Police to arrest a 65-year-old Morton Grove man on a felony weapons charge, a case Hoodline previously reported.
Domestic disturbance calls carry particular risk for both residents and responding officers. The available materials do not provide further details about the February case described in the original account. The available materials also do not establish how frequently domestic-violence calls drive Illinois police dispatches or how many victims advocacy networks serve annually through emergency shelter, legal help, and crisis intervention.
Prior Officer-Involved Shootings Have Drawn Scrutiny
Des Plaines has faced scrutiny over past officer-involved shootings. The available materials do not provide details about a February settlement involving a musician who was 15 when a Des Plaines officer shot him during a 2019 armed-bank-robbery chase in Chicago.
For now, key questions about Wednesday's shooting remain unanswered. Police have not said whether Babidi was armed or posed a threat to officers, nor has MCAT indicated when its independent review might conclude. Hoodline will continue following the investigation as Des Plaines police and the Major Case Assistance Team release additional information.
