'We lost a family member': Police search for killers of 'GI Joe' cop

World

‘We lost a family member’: Police search for killers of 'GI Joe’ cop

As a small northern Illinois community of Fox Lake mourned Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz, a popular veteran police officer who was fatally shot while on duty, authorities scoured the area overnight in search of three men wanted in his slaying. An emotional Fox Lake Mayor Donny Schmit described Gliniewicz as a personal friend, a three-decade member of the department and a father of four sons. “We lost a family member,” said Schmit. Schools in Fox Lake will be closed on Wednesday and a vigil for the officer is planned for Wednesday evening. On Tuesday evening, dozens of residents gathered for hours along a street in the village to show their support for law enforcement officers.

Officials said Gliniewicz, 52, was known around town as “GI Joe.” On Tuesday, he had radioed that morning to tell dispatchers that he was chasing three men on foot in Fox Lake, but communication with him was lost soon after. His backup arrived to find him shot; Gliniewicz later died. More than 100 police officers using aircraft and dogs searched northern Illinois overnight for the men believed to be involved in his death. They described the three suspects as two white males and one black male.