A suspect has been apprehended in connection to the fatal shooting of a 26-year-old Chicago police officer, authorities said.
Officer Enrique Martinez was gunned down at around 8 p.m. Monday while conducting a routine traffic stop.
Martinez and a fellow officer approached a vehicle blocking the road and were speaking with the driver when the passenger retrieved a handgun – with a machine gun conversion device – and started firing.
The officer and the driver of the vehicle suffered fatal injuries before the suspect pushed the driver from his seat and drove off, dragging the second officer.
Chief of Detectives Antoinette Ursitti said the suspect broke into an apartment and removed a court-ordered electronic monitor but was arrested shortly later.
“This individual should not have been on our streets with a fully automatic weapon,” Police Superintendent Larry Snelling said.
“As a result of the weapon that this individual had, our officers were outgunned. They’re converting these handguns into hand-held machine guns, and the possibility of killing a person becomes greater.”
