Off-Duty Officer Killed Early This Morning

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Jul 18, 2010 3:15PM

Just two months after off-duty police officer Thomas Wortham, IV was killed in a robbery attempt - and just days after officer Thor Soderberg was laid to rest - another Chicago Police officer has been killed. The 63-year-old officer, who had been on an overnight shift guarding Mayor Daley's home, according to the Tribune, was off-duty, shot after returning home to the 7400 block of South Evans Avenue in what appears to be an attempted vehicle robbery. According to the Trib's report:

He had just gotten home and was cleaning the glass of his recently bought 2010 black Buick when up to three men approached, the detective said. There was an exchange of gunfire between the officer and at least one of the men, a source said.

The officer was killed and the men fled and were being sought this morning, the source said. Three handguns, including one belonging to the officer, were found at the scene.

The Sun-Times adds: "The officer was in uniform and on a motorcycle when he was shot by a gunman trying to steal the bike." The officer, who was due to retire in "a few weeks," was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead. In an unfortunately vague description of the suspect, police said they are seeking a black male, late teens or early 20s, wearing a white t-shirt and blue jeans. They're also seeking an "older model Ford pickup truck that may have bullet holes in the passenger side door." The officer is the eighth active-duty officer killed since July 2008.

Just hours before the shooting, three members of the Satan Disciples gang were arrested and charged in an incident in the Pilsen neighborhood after throwing bottles at an off-duty police officer as he drove by. The incident does not appear to be related to the shooting.

At least three people have been killed and 18 wounded so far in weekend violence.