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 Fox Lake Police Lieutenant Charles Joseph Gliniewicz was found
wounded on Tuesday morning after reporting that he was pursuing
three suspects on foot, the Lake County Sheriff's Office said. He
died later.
Officials described the three suspects as two white males and one
black male. None was in custody as of Tuesday evening, Lake County
Sheriff's Office spokesman Christopher Covelli said.
The shooting came days after a county deputy sheriff in Texas was
killed in a hail of gunfire while refueling a patrol car at a gas
station. A suspect in the Texas shooting on Friday was captured and
has been charged with capital murder.
Gliniewicz, a father of four boys and a decorated officer, was known
around the village as "G.I. Joe" and dedicated to Fox Lake and his
fellow officers, Mayor Donny Schmit told a news conference.
"Today, not only did Fox Lake lose a family member, I lost a very
dear friend," Schmit said.
Gliniewicz, who retired as a first sergeant in the U.S. Army
Reserve, earned several awards and commendations in the police
department, including a medal of valor, Fox Lake spokesman David
Bayless said. He had been involved in a youth law enforcement
training program for about a decade.
On Tuesday evening, a group of officers formed a line and
disappeared into dense trees and brush in a search for the suspects
as bystanders watched across a busy road.
"I've lived here for 30 years and never had to lock my door until
now," said Dan Christensen, 64, as a police helicopter circled above
a nearby wooded area.
Donna Hrycenko, 33, whose two children met Gliniewicz through a
school program, was one of more than a dozen people holding signs
that said "police lives matter" along a main thoroughfare in Fox
Lake.
"He was the nicest man you could have ever met in your life,"
Hrycenko said.
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Covelli said residents should remain indoors and report suspicious
activity.
Officials ordered commuter trains halted, roads blocked and schools
locked down as they conducted a widespread search in a wooded area
about 40 miles (65 km) north of Chicago, near the Wisconsin border.
Schools in Fox Lake will be closed on Wednesday and a vigil for the
officer is planned for Wednesday evening.
Federal marshals, Illinois State Police and units from McHenry and
Lake County Sheriff's offices, many with drawn rifles, searched
door-to-door during the day.
The Federal Aviation Administration established a no-fly zone over
the search area.
(Additional reporting by Suzannah Gonzales in Chicago; Writing by
Fiona Ortiz and David Bailey; Editing by Susan Heavey and Eric
Walsh)
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