Chicago officer shot, killed while coming home from work; Suspects arrested for separate robberies
Several people were detained as investigators tried to determine the circumstances that led to the deadly shooting of a Chicago police officer Saturday overnight.
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Two men and three women were charged with armed robbery and possession of a stolen motor vehicle following the shooting of the officer, according to CBS News. Another man was identified as a suspect; however, he remained at large at the time of reporting.
The men and women were believed to be connected to the shooting and killing of Chicago Officer Aréanah Preston, a spokesperson for the police department said. But, no charges have been filed against any of the six suspects in the case of the police shooting.
Preston, 24, was shot around 1:42 a.m. on Saturday in the 8100 block of South Blackstone Avenue.
A responding officer transported her to University of Chicago Medical Center in the back of a squad car.
Attempts were made to save her life, but she succumbed to her multiple gunshot wounds in the upper part of her chest and died.
The shooting reportedly occurred as the officer was getting home from her shift in the Calumet (5th) District. Her neighbor and family friend, Diane Ward, heard the gunshots.
“Loud gunshots,” Ward said. “I didn’t think too much of it, so I went to bed and then woke up again because I heard a lot of traffic on the block, sirens, and blue lights.”
“This is the first time anything big has happened,” Ward said in shock.
Ward said her Ring camera did not catch the incident, however detectives confiscated the footage from Ward’s neighbor’s cameras.
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One of the men and women considered suspects in the case were arrested the following day on Sunday after attempting to enter the back seat of an Uber. Chicago Police surveillance teams were following them to this junction.
The Uber driver took pictures of the scene that showed a semi-automatic 9mm pistol being recovered from the suspects. It is unclear if the gun was used to kill the officer.
The suspects were allegedly arrested for being connected to a string of robberies that occurred shortly before the shooting.
The Chicago Police wrote, Preston was “killed while trying to defend herself from armed individuals in an apparent robbery [and] she died taking police action.”
Preston was set to graduate from Loyola University School of Law with a Master of Jurisprudence before her death.
