Chicago Police Officer Areanah Preston was shot and killed outside her South Side home on Saturday after returning from a night shift, according to police.
Four suspects have been charged with her death and will face a Cook County Circuit Court judge at noon CT on Wednesday.
The suspects are Trevell Breeland, 19; Joseph Brooks, 19; Jakwon Buchanan, 18; and a 16-year-old juvenile whose name was not released.
They all face charges that include murder and robbery in Preston's death. Police also charged them with other robberies, a carjacking, and, in Breeland's case, a felon possessing a firearm.
Preston, a three-year veteran of the force, was due to receive a master's degree from Loyola University in Chicago this coming Saturday. A school spokesperson told Fox News Digital that her family will accept her degree at the commencement ceremony, which is closed to the media.
Police took five persons of interest into custody earlier this week, four after a SWAT standoff at 76th and Bishop streets on Sunday night and a fifth separately, according to law enforcement sources.
Both Breeland and Buchanan lived on Bishop Street, police said. A spokesperson for State's Attorney Kim Foxx deferred questions about the investigation to Chicago police.
The attack was believed to have been a robbery early in the investigation, according to the city's chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police.
A law enforcement source told Fox News Digital it fit the pattern of a "swarm" style robbery, in which a group of crooks rushes a single victim. The source said that the number and nature of Preston's gunshot wounds also suggested an up-close encounter.
Preston returned home around 1:45 a.m. Saturday, according to police. Around that time, dispatchers received an alert of shots fired on her block. "Officers responded and found one of our own suffering gunshot wounds," the department's interim superintendent, Eric Carter, said during an emotional news briefing Saturday morning.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot called the shooting "awful and tragic" and said she had instructed police to "spare no expense" in hunting down the suspects.
"There are some who say that our police officers are not worthy of our respect," she said. "There are some who say we should not be supporting and funding our police department. I would urge any person who holds that view to reflect on moments like this."
The tragic death of Officer Preston has once again highlighted the dangers faced by police officers in the line of duty. The charges against the four suspects and the ongoing investigation will hopefully bring some closure to Preston's family and colleagues.
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