By Caroline Kubzansky, Sam Charles
Chicago Tribune
CHICAGO — A Chicago police officer was shot and killed Monday night in East Chatham, according to Chicago police Superintendent Larry Snelling, who said the 26-year-old officer “gave his life for this city.”
“The wounds were too great for this officer to recover,” Snelling said, who called such policework unpredictable.
“There is a family suffering right now,” Snelling said, declining to immediately release the officer’s name.
Mayor Brandon Johnson called for the city to embrace the family of the officer, who was just shy of three years of service in the department.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with this family, and as the city of Chicago , we will rise again,” Johnson said.
At around 8 p.m., the officer was responding to a 911 call in the 8200 block of South Ingleside, police said. One suspect involved in the shooting also was shot and killed and another responding officer also fired his weapon during the encounter, Snelling said.
That person was found to be in possession of a handgun, Snelling said. Another person at the scene was arrested. Officers recovered a weapon with an extended magazine at the scene, he said.
Other responding officers made several calls for an ambulance, but ultimately took the wounded officer to the University of Chicago Medical Center in a police vehicle, according to police radio traffic.
Minutes before the officer was shot, a woman called 911 to say that she shot someone breaking into her vehicle in the 8200 block of South Ingleside, though it was not immediately clear if that call was related to the fatal shooting.
Officers responded, but there was no shooting victim found. The 911 caller once again called, this time to say she was dissatisfied with the police response. A sergeant said he would respond and talk with her.
Soon after, a cry of an officer shot cracked over the radio.
The officer was the first CPD officer to die in an on-duty shooting since Andres Vasquez Lasso in March 2023.
By 8:30 p.m., squad cars blocked off much of South Cottage Grove Avenue near the University of Chicago Medical Center, where the officer was being treated.
Just before 9 p.m., a man in a white coat emerged from the emergency room and gestured for a crowd of officers to follow him. Grieving officers inside the hospital could be seen reacting to the situation.
The press conference was held just outside the hospital. Snelling said much of the investigation is fluid and more details would be forthcoming, including any arrest history of those involved.
Violent repeat offenders need to be kept off the street, Snelling said.
“Our officers go out and they face this type of danger every single day. We never know what’s in store,” Snelling said. “In a city where our officers are not safe, it’s going to be hard for others to be safe.”
Snelling was asked if he had a message for those involved in the officer’s slaying or others like them.
“We will get you, and we will prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law,” he answered.
Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara, addressing media after the press conference, commended Snelling’s message about repeat offenders but said “the same can’t be said for (Johnson).”
“They talk about accountability,” he said. “There is no accountability for criminals.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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