Illinois quick hits: Chicago police officer killed; state capitol temporarily locked down

Chicago police officer killed

An off-duty Chicago police officer was shot and killed overnight while returning home from work Sunday.

Officers responded to a ShotSpotter alert and found 30-year-old Luis Huesca with multiple gunshot wounds nearby. Police said Huesca’s vehicle was taken but have not confirmed that the incident was a carjacking. No arrests have been made.

Huesca’s death comes almost a year after 24-year-old Officer Ariana Preston was shot and killed in front of her home.

State capitol temporarily locked down

The Illinois State Capitol was placed on lockdown Sunday following a bomb threat.

Illinois State Police reported a bomb threat outside the building, leading the Secretary of State Police to issue a lockdown and sweep for exploding devices. The building was reopened just after 2 p.m. after the threat was determined not credible.

This marks the third time this year that the state capital has faced threats.

POW identified

The remains of a U.S. soldier who died as a POW in the Pacific Theater of World War II are coming home to Illinois.

Forensics experts have identified the remains of Pfc. Harry Jerele, who was from Berkeley. Jerele was 26 when he died as a prisoner of war in December 1942 after being captured by the Japanese in the Philippines earlier that year.

Jerele will be buried on Oct. 6 in Elwood, where the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery is located.