Chicago police officer shot dead and has car taken during commute home: Officials

A Chicago Police Department officer was fatally shot early Sunday morning while on his way home from work.

Luis Huesca, 30, suffered multiple gunshot wounds around 2:53 a.m. before he was discovered on the ground near 56th Street and South Kedzie Avenue with his car missing. Huesca was wearing his uniform under a jacket at the time, according to Chicago Police Department Superintendent Larry Snelling. A gunshot detection alert notified officers of the incident, and they believe Huesca's car was stolen. The University of Chicago Medical Center pronounced Huesca dead after he was transported there.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson expressed his condolences to Huesca's family and work colleagues in a post on X.

"No family or community should ever have to suffer such pain," Johnson wrote. "I met with Officer Huesca's mother and uncle this morning and assured them that they have my full support as they deal with this unspeakable loss."

Snelling held a press conference outside of the hospital on Sunday, and he said officers are trying to figure out whether Huesca was killed in a carjacking. There is no known motive or suspect in custody.

"He was working hard out there to keep communities and to keep people safe, and today, that officer was a victim of the type of crime that he was working against to keep people safe in this city," Snelling said. "There's a lot of violent crime out here, and there are people who are brazen and cowardly in the way they go about their days and carry out these violent acts against the decent, hardworking people of this city who are just trying to live their lives the right way. It has to stop."

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The tragic news comes about a year after two Chicago police officers, Areanah Preston and Andres Vasquez-Lasso, were fatally shot in separate incidents a couple of months apart. Vasquez-Lasso was reportedly a friend of Huesca's.

Huesca was a six-year veteran of the force, in which he most recently served in the 5th District as a Priority Response Team member. Tuesday would have been his 31st birthday. He is survived by his mother and uncle.