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A 29-year-old Chicago policewoman was killed and another officer was seriously injured in a firefight during a traffic stop, officials said on Sunday. The officer killed Saturday night has been identified as Ella French, according to an article posted Sunday night on the Chicago Police Department Facebook page.
Two Chicago brothers have been charged in the shooting, the Chicago Police Department said in a press release Monday. Emonte Morgan, 21, is charged with first degree murder, as well as attempted murder and other charges. Eric Morgan, 22, faces charges of aggravated illegal use of a weapon, illegal use of a weapon by a criminal and obstruction of justice.
The two brothers and a woman were in a vehicle that had been pulled over by police in south Chicago on Saturday night when gunfire erupted. The one-page statement did not offer any details as to why the vehicle was stopped or what happened before the shooting began.
The brothers are scheduled to appear in a Cook County bond court Tuesday.
Earlier Monday, federal prosecutors charged a man in Indiana with illegally purchasing and then supplying the semi-automatic handgun used in the shooting. Jamel Danzy, 29, is accused of buying the gun from a licensed arms dealer in Hammond, Indiana, in March and then supplying it to an Illinois resident Danzy knew was ‘he could neither buy nor own weapons because of a felony conviction.
The person who allegedly illegally obtained the gun has not been identified, but a statement from the Chicago Attorney’s Office said arresting officers recovered the gun from a person in the area. vehicle from which police fired, according to the Associated Press. .
Danzy, of Hammond, first appeared in U.S. District Court in Chicago on Monday afternoon for conspiring to violate federal gun laws, including knowingly transferring a firearm to a resident out of state and knowingly disposing of a firearm to a convicted felon. Conviction for conspiracy carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
French’s death was the first fatal bullet from a Chicago officer in the line of duty since 2018 and the first female officer to be shot on the job in 33 years.
“We will never forget the true bravery she showed in sacrificing her life to protect others,” the department said of French on Facebook, adding that her fellow officers “mourn the loss of this hero.” The department has also asked for support for French’s “injured partner, who is in hospital and fighting for his life.”
At a press conference on Sunday, Mayor Lori Lightfoot urged Chicagoans to end the acrimony between ardent police supporters who say officers are hampered by overly heavy rules and fierce critics who say the officers act with impunity.
“Stop. Just stop,” she said. “This constant conflict is not what we need right now.”
Lightfoot has declared a day of mourning and called for all flags to be hoisted on half the staff, CBS Chicago reported.
“The police are not our enemies,” Lightfoot added at the press conference. “We must unite … We have a common enemy: it is guns and gangs.”
Officers had stopped a vehicle with two men and a woman inside just after 9 p.m. in South Chicago when a male passenger opened fire, Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown said during from the same press conference.
Sources told CBS Chicago that the passenger shot the two officers from the back seat of the car.
Officers fired back, hitting the passenger who appeared to be shooting at them, Brown said. He did not release this man’s condition.
As CBS Chicago reported, surveillance footage from a nearby house shows an officer exiting his car and walking near the fence. In less than 15 seconds, a flurry of officers arrives.
About a minute later, several police officers walk down the sidewalk. Soon after, an ambulance pulls up, a stretcher is brought to the fence, and someone appears to be loaded onto the ambulance.
Brown said much of what happened was captured on a body camera, but that video cannot yet be released, CBS Chicago reported. The Civilian Police Accountability Office will investigate.
Asked about the injured officer’s condition, Brown replied, “Critical. We need your prayers. “
The superintendent said it was too early to say why the vehicle was stopped and what could have happened just before the shooting started. He said the available evidence included footage from police body cameras.
A large crowd of officers gathered outside the hospital ambulance entrance overnight, some kissing and praying, as Lightfoot first addressed the shooting to nearby reporters . Lightfoot said the deceased officer “was very young on the job, but incredibly excited to get the job done.”
The last Chicago officer shot dead in the line of duty was Samuel Jimenez, 28, who was killed after responding to a shooting at a hospital on November 19, 2018.
Two officers, Conrad Gary and Eduardo Marmolejo, died when struck by a train while chasing a suspect on December 17, 2018. The department is also considering the COVID-19 deaths of four officers last year.
The last female officer shot dead in the line of duty was Irma Ruiz, who was shot dead in a primary school in 1988.
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