CHICAGO (Wales) — Charges were announced Wednesday in the shooting death of a young Chicago police officer.

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Chicago police officer Enrique Martinez, 26, was killed just after 8 p.m. Monday night while he and others conducted a traffic stop in the 8000 block of South Ingleside Avenue in East Chatham.

According to police, there were three people in the vehicle. Police said someone sitting in the backseat grabbed a gun from under the seat and killed Martinez and the 23-year-old driver, who has not yet been identified.

The alleged attacker, whom police identified Wednesday as 23-year-old Darion McMillian of Harvey, initially attempted to flee the scene, dragging a second officer with his vehicle in the process.

Police say the man broke into a woman’s home to hack her electronic monitoring device in the Will County case.

CPD said the gun used had a switch that turned the semi-automatic weapon into fully automatic.

McMillian was later taken into custody in the 8000 block of South Maryland Avenue, Snelling said.

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Snelling announced the charges in the attack Wednesday afternoon alongside Mayor Brandon Johnson and Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx.

McMillian is charged with first-degree murder of a police officer, first-degree murder, attempted murder of a police officer, residential burglary, unlawful use of a weapon and aggravated use of a weapon by a felon.

Chicago officials’ message on Wednesday offered both support for the officer’s family and a call for change.

“Our department and our city lost a hero Monday night when Officer Enrique Martinez was shot and killed while protecting the city of Chicago. Today is the first step towards bringing his killer to justice,” Snelling said. “We have to be serious about the gun violence happening in the city right now; it’s the only way we can protect the lives of our citizens, protect the lives of our officers, and reduce violence and homicides.” and don’t get shot.”

The emotional toll was clearly felt at Chicago Police Headquarters on Wednesday.

“Officer Martinez saved lives even though he knew it could cost him his life,” Johnson said.

Foxx said, “We have a gun problem and we have had a gun problem for a very long time. Therefore, if there is excessive proliferation of weapons, the possibility of fatal consequences increases.”

McMillian is due in court on Thursday. More details about what led to the conflict and what happened next will likely emerge at that time.

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