by

Illinois Police Officer Shot Dead, Prompting Manhunt

An Illinois police offi­cer was shot and killed Tuesday morn­ing, prompt­ing a mas­sive man­hunt for three armed sus­pects who stripped the dying offi­cer of his weapon, author­i­ties said. The Fox Lake offi­cer was shot around 8 a.m. after call­ing in that he encoun­tered three sus­pi­cious men, Lake County Sheriff Sgt. Chris Covelli said. He ran after the sus­pects, iden­ti­fied as two white men and one black man, before he went radio silent. Another offi­cer arrived on the scene, about 55 miles north of Chicago, to find him with a gun­shot wound. The sus­pects shot the offi­cer in the head, accord­ing to WGN.  Lake County Undersheriff Raymond Rose told the Chicago Tribune that the offi­cer died at the scene after he was dis­cov­ered with­out his gun and pep­per spray in a marshy area.

STACEY WESCOTT/AP A police helicopter patrols a swampy area near route 59 and Rollins in Fox Lake, Ill., where a manhunt is in progress after an officer was shot.
STACEY WESCOTT/​AP
A police heli­copter patrols a swampy area near route 59 and Rollins in Fox Lake, Ill., where a man­hunt is in progress after an offi­cer was shot.

The offi­cer had served with the police force for 32 years, CNN report­ed. Law enforce­ment offi­cials declined to iden­ti­fy him. “At this point, this is a two-pronged inves­ti­ga­tion,” Covelli said, not­ing the Major Crimes Task Force was inves­ti­gat­ing the inci­dent while work­ing to appre­hend the sus­pects. The detec­tive did not say what prompt­ed the foot chase. CBS Chicago report­ed the shoot­ing stemmed from a traf­fic stop that went awry.

A manhunt is underwway for three armed men in the suburban Fox Lake area.
A man­hunt is under­wway for three armed men in the sub­ur­ban Fox Lake area.

The offi­cer was shot near Route 12 and Sayton Road, which is near a Walgreens and a “Welcome to Fox Lake” sign.

Multiple agen­cies in the area, includ­ing U.S. Marshals and a SWAT team, were on the scene as heav­i­ly-armed offi­cers con­tin­ue to comb near­by woods with canine units and heli­copters. Residents have been ordered to stay inside and roads have been blocked off, Covelli said. Grant Community High School and Gavin South dis­trict schools were placed on lock­down as Metra com­muter rail ser­vice was disrupted.

Sept. 1, 2015 - Fox Lake, IL, USA - A sniper and a lookout stand on top of a roof searching for two men following the killing of a police officer Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2015 in Fox Lake, Ill. (Credit Image: © Stacey Wescott/TNS via ZUMA Wire)
Sept. 1, 2015 — Fox Lake, IL, USA — A sniper and a look­out stand on top of a roof search­ing for two men fol­low­ing the killing of a police offi­cer Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2015 in Fox Lake, Ill. (Credit Image: © Stacey Wescott/​TNS via ZUMA Wire)

The shoot­ing comes just days after a Texas deputy was killed while pump­ing gas Friday.

Shannon J. Miles, 30, will be charged with cap­i­tal mur­der after shoot­ing uni­formed Harris County Deputy Darren Goforth, 47, mul­ti­ple times from behind, police said. Goforth, a 10-year vet­er­an of the sher­if­f’s office, had a wife and two kids.

Twenty-three offi­cers were killed by gun­fire in the line of duty in 2015, accord­ing to Officer Down Memorial Page.

Story orig­i­nat­ed here: Illinois police offi­cer shot dead, prompt­ing manhunt