(Image source from: InfoTel.ca)

Ferocious protests erupted on Chicago's South Side late Saturday after police officers fatally shot a man whom they thought to be armed.

The Chicago Police Department said officers spotted a man "whom they thought might be armed" while out on patrol, and he was shot when he allegedly reached for a weapon as they approached him.

Though the man did not fire at the officers, police say an arm was recovered at the incident.

According to Chicago Tribune, hours after the man was pronounced dead, a relatively peaceful protest spiraled out of control, when protesters began chanting "murderers" at police officers and some threw bottles filled with urine.

Respectively four officers and four demonstrators were apprehended, according to reports. Chief Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi blasted "inaccurate information" for elevating the protests.

"There was some inaccurate information that the individual was unarmed. We have cops out there, community affairs officers, trying to give them as much information as we can ... This is a tragic situation where an individual lost his life," he said.

By Sowmya Sangam