In Chicago, an off-duty police officer was shot and killed last month while driving home from work. The incident adds to a string of cop killings that have plagued the country this year. According to reports, 22-year-old Xavier Tate Jr. was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in the killing of 30-year-old Chicago Police Officer Luis Huesca.
The murder occurred during the early hours of April 21 in the Gage Park area, where Huesca was returning home from work still in uniform, although with outer layers covering his top. The off-duty officer was shot roughly 20 times by a gun that was modified to be fully automatic.
Reportedly, Huesca’s vehicle was stolen and eventually found nearby. Following the murder, Tate was identified as a suspect in the killing after footage was released of him inside a store and outside on a sidewalk.
“We ask that the people of this city continue to support the Huesca family by keeping them in your prayers as they continue to mourn the loss of a beloved son, brother and uncle,” CPD said in a statement. Huesca was just days away from his 31st birthday.
“These are senseless, senseless crimes that have taken the lives of our community members. That officer was a victim of the type of crime that he was working against to keep people safe in his city,” according to a statement from Chicago Police Department Superintendent Larry Snelling.
Chicago Alderman Anthony Napolitano recently spoke to Fox News about the tragic murder and the pervasive dysfunction in the city of Chicago. Napolitano stated that it is no longer safe to be a resident or a police officer in the Windy City.
“You know, it’s dangerous. It’s… it’s probably the most dangerous profession going right now in the city of Chicago, besides being just a citizen, Nobody’s safe here right now. We have leadership and city council that’s more worried about funding money towards illegal immigrants and getting more votes for their next election than they are protecting our city and our citizens. My father had a saying what when when your police officers aren’t saying it safe anymore, you’ve lost your city. And that’s what’s going on here,” he said.
The alderman further slammed the Chicago city council for stripping necessary funds away from the police department in the embattled city. He said, “In city council we’re actually taking as many resources as we can away from our police officers were defunding them as much as possible, or our foreign leaders now are defunding them as much as possible.”
Napolitano expressed how the they have “lost” the city of Chicago and doesn’t believe any of the superficial statements released by the city’s leadership about the death of Officer Huesca. “Because they don’t care about police officers. They don’t care about citizens anymore. We’ve lost our city and no one’s doing anything about it anymore. So I don’t believe any of that talk anymore. They’re taking away shot spotters. They’re taking police out of our schools. They’re demonizing the police and they’re celebrating the lawsuits against the police officers every week in city council,” he said.
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