A Chicago police officer was killed and another officer is in critical condition following a traffic shooting last weekend, August 7, 2021.
Three people are in custody for the shooting.
The officer who was slain in the shootout is Ella French. She was 29-years old and was in the police force since 2018.
According to the reports, they were conducting a traffic stop in the 6300 block of South Bell Avenue at around 9 PM.
Officers had pulled over a car with three people inside: two men and a woman. According to police, the passengers in the vehicle opened fire on the officers, resulting in a gunfight.
At the scene, the officers were hit by gunfire. Both officers were taken to the hospital, where one of them, French, died as a result of her injuries.
The officer’s family had no statement other than “pray”, according to CBS Chicago.
And fellow officers are doing just that. Newsmax host Steve Cortes tweeted a photo of a large group of Chicago’ finest praying outside of the emergency entrance of the hospital where the wounded officers were brought.
“Chicago police pray at the hospital where their shot colleagues were brought. Officer Ellen French died and leaves behind her infant child. Another cop fights for his life. An inspiring but heartbreaking scene of the best of the blue…” he wrote.
“Please keep this officer in your prayers. Also, keep the other officer who was shot in your prayers and his family and his friends and every day for the rest of his life, uplift him and support him,” said Mayor Lori Lightfood in the press conference.
The second officer who was critically injured has yet to be identified. According to Chicago police, the officer is still in critical condition at the University of Chicago, where he is being intubated by a respondent.
Ella’s brother, Andrew said he never had a doubt with her decision to be a police officer. Andrew, on the other hand, is in the Army.
“We wanted to do good for the world. My mom adopted both of us. She raised us to be of service, to care, to have integrity,” French said. “My sister is a badass. She always wanted to make a difference wherever, however it was possible. I was never surprised when she said she was going to be a sheriff and then a cop. It just made sense.”
So far this year, 38 officers have been shot or attempted to be shot. Eleven of the officers were wounded by gunfire.