3rd suspect arrested in fatal shooting of Chicago police officer; victim identified

CHICAGO — One Chicago police officer was killed and another was critically injured Saturday night when they were shot in a South Side neighborhood, authorities said.

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Both officers were taken to an area hospital, where one of them -- a woman -- was pronounced dead, the Cook County medical examiner’s office told the Chicago Sun-Times. The Chicago Police Department also confirmed the officer’s death, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Update 8:18 p.m. ET Aug. 8: Chicago police on Sunday arrested the third suspect in a fatal shooting during a West Englewood traffic stop that left one police officer dead and a second wounded.

The slain officer was identified as 29-year-old Ella French, 29, who joined the department in April 2018, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

Chicago Police Department Supt. David Brown announced the arrest but did not identify the suspect. Brown did confirm, however, that the wounded officer, who has not been identified publicly, remained in critical condition, the newspaper reported.

“Our officers need this city to pray for their strength, to pray for peace that they are comforted, that their families are comforted,” Brown said during a brief news conference Sunday morning at the department’s headquarters.

French and the other officer, both members of the department’s year-old Community Safety Team, were shot during the traffic stop just before 9 p.m. Saturday, and both returned fire, hitting at least one suspect, the newspaper reported.

Year-to-date, a total of 38 officers have been fired upon, and 11 of them have been struck by gunfire, Brown said during the news conference.

Meanwhile, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot declared Sunday an official day of mourning and ordered all flags at city buildings lowered to half-staff, the Sun-Times reported.

Original report: The other officer was “fighting for his very life” in critical condition, according to First Deputy Eric Carter who talked to reporters outside the hospital early Sunday.

The shooting happened in the West Englewood area of the city just after 9 p.m. CDT, police spokesperson Officer Alex Aguas told the Chicago Tribune, citing preliminary information.

“Our hearts ache for the loss of life,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said at a news conference early Sunday morning.

The woman was the first Chicago police officer to die in the line of duty since December 2018, the Tribune reported. That is when Officers Eduardo Marmolejo and Conrad Gary were fatally struck by a train while pursuing a man wanted for illegally possessing a gun, the newspaper reported. That suspect, Edward Brown, was sentenced this past April to a year in prison for a felony weapon violation, according to the Tribune.

Two suspects were taken into custody, WLS reported. One of the suspects was shot and was taken to an area hospital, the television station reported. A third person, a woman, is still at large, police told the Sun-Times. A third suspect, a woman, was being sought by police late Saturday.

The incident happened on “No Crime Day” in the city, WGN reported. Several Chicago community groups and churches were promoting peace Saturday, WLS reported, hoping to cool off the violent wave of crime in the city.

Community organizations and churches from the South and West sides of Chicago hosted different picnics, parades and giveaways in the Austin, Englewood and Roseland neighborhoods, the television station reported.

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