Page 16 - Minister Arthur Dowers
P. 16
U.S. NEWS A3
Thursday 3 September 2015
At Press Time:
Hunt for 3 suspects in Illinois officer’s death widens
DON BABWIN Police search from a helicopter for suspects in the shooting of a police officer in Fox Lake, Ill. a personal friend, a three-
Associated Press decade member of the
FOX LAKE, Illinois (AP) Fox Lake Police Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz was shot and killed while pursuing a group of department and a father
— U.S. Iaw enforcement of four sons.
officials broadened the suspicious men. Police with helicopters, dogs and armed with rifles are conducting a massive “We lost a family mem-
hunt Wednesday for three ber,” Schmit said of the
suspects in the fatal shoot- manhunt in northern Illinois for the individuals believed to be involved in the death of the three- 52-year-old officer known
ing of a popular veteran around town as “GI Joe.”
police officer in a small decade member of the department and a father of four sons. (AP Photo/Michael Schmidt) ‘’His commitment to the
northern Illinois community people of this community
after a methodical house- continuing to look for the scanning the terrain with day later. has been unmatched and
to-house search turned offenders, continuing to rifle scopes and binocu- Gliniewicz radioed in Tues- will be dearly missed.”
up nothing. investigate suspicious ac- lars. Others leaned out of day morning to tell dis- Workers adorned the vil-
Hundreds of officers, aid- tivity and being available helicopters with weap- patchers he was chasing lage hall with black and
ed by dozens of dogs for residents.” ons at the ready. Federal three men on foot, Cov- purple bunting in a dis-
and numerous helicop- Authorities from across the agencies, SWAT teams elli said. Communication play of mourning and sev-
ters, were involved in the state and region joined and 48 police dogs assist- with him was lost soon af- eral evening vigils were
exhaustive search in Fox the manhunt Tuesday in ed in the manhunt, Covelli ter. Covelli said backup planned.
Lake after the killing of Lt. the village about 60 miles said. officers found him injured Eleven-year-old Takoa
Charles Joseph Gliniewicz north of Chicago. Residents of the usu- with a gunshot wound Thomas, a sixth grader,
on Tuesday morning. That Some wore tactical gear ally sleepy village were and that he died soon af- stood on the side of a
initial manhunt focused and toted high-powered urged to stay indoors, ter. road with a handmade
on a two-square-mile rifles. Officers took up po- and schools that went on An emotional Fox Lake sign that read “Cops’ lives
area near the scene of sitions on rooftops and lockdown the day of the Mayor Donny Schmit de- matter. RIP GI Joe.”
the shooting and ended along railroad tracks, shooting were closed a scribed the slain officer as The area near the Wiscon-
around 10 p.m. Tuesday. sin border area is popular
Then, officers switched to for boating and other out-
“saturation patrols” over door pursuits because of
a broader area to search its forest preserves and a
for the suspects, investi- chain of lakes that partly
gate any suspicious activ- encircles Fox Lake. Some
ity and reassure residents, longtime city dwellers
said Lake County Sheriff’s move to the region for
Office spokesman Sgt. what is normally a quieter
Christopher Covelli. lifestyle.
Meanwhile, the Lake Gliniewicz’s death is the
County Major Crimes Task third law enforcement
Force has taken over the fatality in Illinois this year,
main investigation and is according to the Law En-
following leads, he said. forcement Officers Memo-
“We’re not searching in an rial Fund. It says firearms-
enclosed perimeter area related deaths in the U.S.
anymore,” Covelli said. are down 13 percent this
“But we are saturating the year compared to the
area. I would describe it same period last year,
as numerous police offi- Jan. 1. to Sept. 1; there
cers, sheriff’s deputies and were 30 last year and 26
state troopers in the area this year.q
