FOX LAKE, Ill. (AP) — Law enforcement officials broadened the hunt Wednesday for three suspects in the fatal shooting of a popular veteran police officer in a small northern Illinois community after a methodical house-to-house search turned up nothing.
Hundreds of officers, aided by dozens of dogs and numerous helicopters, were involved in the exhaustive search in Fox Lake after the killing of Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz on Tuesday morning. That initial manhunt focused on a two-square-mile area near the scene of the shooting and ended around 10 p.m. Tuesday. Then, officers switched to “saturation patrols” over a broader area to search for the suspects, investigate any suspicious activity and reassure residents, said Lake County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Sgt. Christopher Covelli.
Meanwhile, the Lake County Major Crimes Task Force has taken over the main investigation and is following leads, he said.
“We’re not searching in an enclosed perimeter area anymore,” Covelli said. “But we are saturating the area. I would describe it as numerous police officers, sheriff’s deputies and state troopers in the area continuing to look for the offenders, continuing to investigate suspicious activity and being available for residents.”
Authorities from across the state and region joined the manhunt Tuesday in the village about 60 miles north of Chicago.
Some wore tactical gear and toted high-powered rifles. Officers took up positions on rooftops and along railroad tracks, scanning the terrain with rifle scopes and binoculars. Others leaned out of helicopters with weapons at the ready. Federal agencies, SWAT teams and 48 police dogs assisted in the manhunt, Covelli said.
Residents of the usually sleepy village were urged to stay indoors, and schools that went on lockdown the day of the shooting were closed a day later.
Gliniewicz radioed in Tuesday morning to tell dispatchers he was chasing three men on foot, Covelli said. Communication with him was lost soon after. Covelli said backup officers found him injured with a gunshot wound and that he died soon after.
An emotional Fox Lake Mayor Donny Schmit described the slain officer as a personal friend, a three-decade member of the department and a father of four sons.
“We lost a family member,” Schmit said of the 52-year-old officer known around town as “GI Joe.” ”His commitment to the people of this community has been unmatched and will be dearly missed.”
Workers adorned the village hall with black and purple bunting in a display of mourning and several evening vigils were planned.
Eleven-year-old Takoa Thomas, a sixth grader, stood on the side of a road with a handmade sign that read “Cops’ lives matter. RIP GI Joe.”
“I wanted to be out here to show support,” the boy said.
His mother, Tara England, 41, said the boy’s school was on lockdown Tuesday and was closed Wednesday, and that she had mixed feelings about their safety.
“One of the reasons I’m out here is I don’t want to be home alone,” she said. “My husband’s at work.”
“But if it were me, I’d be long gone,” she said of the suspects.
The area near the Wisconsin border area is popular for boating and other outdoor pursuits because of its forest preserves and a chain of lakes that partly encircles Fox Lake. Some longtime city dwellers move to the region for what is normally a quieter lifestyle.
Gliniewicz’s death is the third law enforcement fatality in Illinois this year, according to the Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. It says firearms-related deaths in the U.S. are down 13 percent this year compared to the same period last year, Jan. 1. to Sept. 1; there were 30 last year and 26 this year.
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Associated Press writers Jason Keyser in Chicago and Carrie Antlfinger in Fox Lake contributed to this report.
