Washington – A police officer who was pursuing three suspects on foot in a Chicago suburb was shot and killed on Tuesday, news reports said.
A manhunt is under way in the suburb of Fox Lake, Illinois, just north of Chicago, for the three suspects, who were described as two white men and one black man.
The search involved canine units and helicopters searching from the air, Sergeant Chrisopher Covelli of the Lake County Illinois Sheriff’s office said. A SWAT team also has been deployed, news reports said.
People who live in the suburb were told to stay home, and some schools were on lockdown.
The officer died at the scene, according to news reports. His weapon and other equipment were missing from his body. He was pursuing the three men on foot around 08:00 (13:00 GMT) and had called for backup, Lake County Under Sheriff Raymond Rose told the Chicago Tribune.
The shooting occurred after a traffic stop, according to the local CBS News affiliate.
The shooting comes less than a week after a white sheriff’s deputy in Texas was shot and killed at a petrol station. A 30-year-old African American man has been charged in the slaying.
Both shootings come amid heightened tensions between police and people living in predominantly African-American communities after a year of high-profile killings of black citizens by police.
DPA
Source
South Africa Today – World News
