Slain Illinois policeman killed by single gunshot wound: reports

[September 10, 2015]  (Reuters) - A veteran Illinois police officer who was killed on duty last week succumbed to a single gunshot wound, a coroner told local media on Wednesday, though it was not yet known who fired the fatal bullet.

Fox Lake Police Lieutenant Charles Joseph Gliniewicz, 52, was found wounded on Sept. 1 after reporting to dispatch that he was pursuing three suspects on foot. He later died.

Gliniewicz was killed by a single bullet, Lake County Coroner Thomas Rudd told reporters on Wednesday, though it was not yet clear whether the gunshot was the result of homicide, suicide or an accident.

“We obviously know that a bullet killed him,” Rudd told Chicago NBC affiliate WMAQ-TV. “I can’t rule out a suicide. I can’t rule out an accident. And I can’t rule in a homicide," he said.

The Lake County Coroner was not immediately available to comment on the findings.

Rudd said he was unable to issue a final report on how Gliniewicz died because he has yet to receive all relevant evidence from the incident from law enforcement, according to WMAQ-TV and Illinois' Daily Herald newspaper.

Gliniewicz, a decorated 30-year veteran policeman, was shot during a foot chase in Fox Lake, about 60 miles (97 km) northwest of Chicago, authorities have said.

Investigators were searching for a second week for three suspects who might have been involved in his death.

Officials have described the suspects as two white men and one black man. No additional details, such as clothing, height, or weight were given by Gliniewicz during a radio call just prior to his death, Lake County Major Crime Task Force Commander George Filenko said at a news conference.

DNA evidence recovered from the crime scene was not from Gliniewicz, but from an "unknown donor," Filenko said.

Investigators have fielded 185 leads, Filenko said. Officials are re-canvassing the area and re-interviewing individuals.

Hundreds of mourners gathered in Illinois on Monday for Gliniewicz's funeral.

(Reporting by Victoria Cavaliere and Brendan O'Brien; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)

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