Global Courant 2023-05-09 01:19:07
Chicago police have detained five suspects — four youths and an adult male — in the shooting death of a 24-year-old officer who was killed Saturday morning just steps from her mother’s doorstep after ending a nighttime patrol, according to sources at the police.
The four youths were taken into custody Sunday night following a barricade situation at 76th and Bishop Street, about five miles from where Chicago police officer Areanah Preston was killed, a source told Fox News Digital Monday.
The charges were pending review by the prosecution, which has 48 hours to file charges or release the suspects.
A spokesman for the Chicago Police Department said they had no official updates and the investigation was ongoing, but the department confirmed in a statement that the SWAT team had responded to a South Bishop Street address around 10:30 p.m. Sunday.
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The Chicago Police Department has released the official portrait of slain Officer Aranah Preston, 24, who was fatally shot outside her home following the end of her night shift Saturday. (Chicago Police Department)
Individuals were taken into custody following an armed confrontation there in connection with Preston’s murder, FOX 32 Chicago reportedciting another source.
It was not immediately clear whether all four young people were suspected of the murder. A fifth person, a 19-year-old man, was taken into custody elsewhere, a source told Fox News Digital.
A neighbor of Preston’s told Fox News Digital on Monday that Preston lived with her mother in the home on South Blackstone Avenue. Despite a wave of violent crime plaguing the city, he said his neighborhood, full of elderly residents and working people, was spared until Saturday.
Chicago police officer Areanah Preston was scheduled to receive a master’s degree on May 13, 2023. (Areana Preston/Facebook)
“They took a life, a life that didn’t need to be taken,” he said. “And whatever they tried to get, it wasn’t worth it.”
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After the shooting, he said, he called a contractor to install a new security system and surround his home with security cameras.
Chicago police officer Aranah Preston, 24, was fatally shot just steps from her childhood home after returning from a night patrol around 1:45 a.m. Saturday, police said. (Areana Preston/Facebook)
Preston’s murder occurred the day before thousands of city police officers marched in St. Jude Parade in honor of their fallen colleagues.
Preston had served three years with the Chicago Police Department in the Fifth District, authorities said.
Preston returned home around 1:45 a.m. Saturday after working a night shift, according to police. Around that time, police received a report that shots had been fired at her block.
Murdered Chicago police officer Areanah Preston was 24 years old. She was shot in front of her home on Saturday, according to police. (Areana Preston/Facebook)
“Officers responded and found one of our own gunshot wounds,” the department’s interim superintendent Eric Carter said during an emotional news briefing.
A responding officer rendered assistance at the scene and rushed her to the University of Chicago Medical Center in the back of a patrol car, he said. She succumbed to her injuries in the hospital — the same hospital fellow Chicago police officer Ella French was taken to.
“At this time, we ask that you keep in your prayers the officer and her family, as well as the men and women of the Chicago Police Department, who every day sacrifice everything, including their lives, on the line for this city,” Carter said. . said.
Chicago Police Department Interim Superintendent Eric Carter gives a press conference on Saturday, May 6, 2023 regarding the death of Officer Aranah Preston by shooting. (FOX 32 Chicago)
According to the Fraternal Order of Police, Preston was shot while trying to defend herself from an armed robbery.
According to her Facebook profile, Preston had studied criminal justice and criminology at Illinois State University and attended Loyola University in Chicago.
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Murdered Chicago police officer Areanah Preston, 24, was expected to graduate with a master’s degree on May 13, 2023, a week after her murder outside her home after just finishing a night shift. (FOX 32 Chicago)
The school said in a statement that it expected to receive her master’s degree this weekend.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot called the shooting “terrible and tragic” and said she had instructed police to “spare no expense” in tracking down the suspects.
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“Some say our police officers are not worthy of our respect,” she said. “Some say we shouldn’t support and fund our police. I would urge anyone who has that opinion to think about moments like this.”
Fox News’ Alexis McAdams contributed to this report.
Michael Ruiz is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to michael.ruiz@fox.com and on Twitter: @mikerreports