Chicago cops are killed by 70mph train in ‘devastating tragedy’ after responding to shots-fired call

Two Chicago cops in their 30s are killed by 70mph train in a ‘devastating tragedy’ after they chased suspect down tracks when responding to shots-fired call

  • Chicago cops Eduardo Marmolejo, 37, and Conrad Gary, 31, were killed Monday 
  • They were struck by a train that ‘was probably going somewhere between 60 and 70 miles per hour,’ police said
  • An individual was taken into custody and a weapon was recovered after they responded to a shots-fired call
  • The train was operated by a commuter rail line that links northern Indiana and Chicago 
  • Tuesday morning he revealed officers would remove the bodies from the track 

Two Chicago police officers were fatally struck by a train Monday as they investigated a report of gunshots on the city’s far South Side.

Eduardo Marmolejo, 37, and Conrad Gary, 31, were pursuing a person who had headed toward train tracks and were hit shortly after 6pm as the commuter train passed through the area, Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said.   

He added that the vehicle was going at a high speed when the law enforcement officers were killed.

Police investigate the scene where two officers were killed after they were struck by a South Shore train near 103rd Street and Dauphin Avenue on Monday in Chicago, Illinois

They were struck by a train that 'was probably going somewhere between 60 and 70 miles per hour,' police said 

They were struck by a train that ‘was probably going somewhere between 60 and 70 miles per hour,’ police said 

‘There was no stop at that location so the train was probably going somewhere between 60 and 70 miles per hour,’ Johnson said during a news conference.

The Illinois police department had earlier tweeted about the tragedy.

Marmolejo had been with the department for two-and-a-half years and Gary for 18 months, Johnson said.

‘A devastating tragedy occurred tonight at 103rd and Cottage Grove where two officers investigating a shots fired call were struck by a passing train. Please pray for the 5th district,’ Anthony Guglielmi tweeted.

Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi posted on Twitter that the 'devastating tragedy' occurred when the officers were investigating a shots-fired call

Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi posted on Twitter that the ‘devastating tragedy’ occurred when the officers were investigating a shots-fired call

To demonstrate our highest honors, the #ChicagoPolice Bureau Chiefs and District Commamders will join detectives to personally retrieve Officers Marmolejo & Gordon from the railway. Commander Joel Howard will lead the procession to the Medical Examiner's Office upon completion.

To demonstrate our highest honors, the #ChicagoPolice Bureau Chiefs and District Commamders will join detectives to personally retrieve Officers Marmolejo & Gordon from the railway. Commander Joel Howard will lead the procession to the Medical Examiner’s Office upon completion.

He later updated that a suspect was caught.  

An individual was taken into custody and a weapon was recovered.

‘A weapon was recovered and a person of interest is being questioned at the site where two newly appointment officers lost their lives protecting their community from a gunman,’ Guglielmi added on Twitter.

Tuesday morning he revealed officers would remove the bodies from the track.

‘To demonstrate our highest honors, the #ChicagoPolice Bureau Chiefs and District Commamders will join detectives to personally retrieve Officers Marmolejo & Gordon from the railway. Commander Joel Howard will lead the procession to the Medical Examiner’s Office upon completion.’

The investigation was still in the early stages and that more details would be released at a later time.

Passengers sit on a train while police officers work the scene where two officers were killed after they were struck by a South Shore train

Passengers sit on a train while police officers work the scene where two officers were killed after they were struck by a South Shore train

Police officers work the scene where two officers were killed after they were struck

Police officers work the scene where two officers were killed after they were struck

Chicago police use ‘ShotSpotter’ technology, or sensors that monitor for the sound of gunfire and alert police. 

Johnson said the two officers went to the scene Monday after a ‘ShotSpotter’ alert went out.

‘It just highlights again how dangerous this job can be. I often say that the most dangerous thing a police officer can do is take a weapon off of an armed individual,’ Johnson said.

The train that struck the officers was operated by a commuter rail line that links northern Indiana and Chicago, according to media reports.

In 2002, Chicago police officer Benjamin Perez was fatally struck by a commuter train while conducting surveillance on narcotics activity on the city’s West Side.

Chicago cop Conrad Gary (left with a woman believed to be his wife Kelly Gary), 31, was one of the officers killed Monday

Chicago cop Conrad Gary (left with a woman believed to be his wife Kelly Gary), 31, was one of the officers killed Monday

Two officers went to the scene Monday after a 'ShotSpotter' alert went out

Two officers went to the scene Monday after a ‘ShotSpotter’ alert went out

Chicago police use 'ShotSpotter' technology, or sensors that monitor for the sound of gunfire and alert police

Chicago police use ‘ShotSpotter’ technology, or sensors that monitor for the sound of gunfire and alert police

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