As a reward grew to $100,000 in the search for the suspect in the killing of police Officer Luis Huesca, the Chicago cop's sister said her family's pain is "unbearable."
An arrest warrant has been issued for 22-year-old Xavier Tate Jr. in connection with the shooting, according to the Chicago Police Department. The suspect, who faces murder charges, remains at large, police said.
The reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Tate grew to $100,000 over the weekend with contributions from the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police, Cook County Crime Stoppers; the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the FBI and the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation.
A private visitation for Huesca will be held at Blake-Lamb Funeral Home in the Chicago suburb of Oak Lawn on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and will be opened to the public from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m.
A funeral is planned for 10 a.m. Monday at St. Rita of Cascia Shrine Chapel on the southwest side of Chicago.
Huesca's sister, Lily O'Brien, said she had asked her 30-year-old bother to move across the country to be close to his nieces and nephews, but said he decided to stay in Chicago and protect his community.
"He chose to stay here, which is why I feel like the community needs to show up for him the same way because he paid with his life to stay here," O'Brien told Chicago ABC station WLS this week.
Huesca was still in his uniform when he was shot multiple times two days before his 31st birthday, as he arrived home from his shift early Sunday in the Gage Park neighborhood on the southwest side of Chicago, according to authorities. Police officers found Huesca on the ground outside his home when they responded just before 3 a.m. to investigate a ShotSpotter gunshot detection alert, police said. Huesca was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
Huesca's car was stolen in the incident but later found abandoned, police and local elected leaders said. Multiple sources told WLS that Huesca's gun and badge were also taken.
The Chicago Police Department released surveillance video of a person of interest investigators say they're searching for in the slaying. Police have since said the man in the video is Tate and warned the public that the suspect should be considered armed and dangerous.
"It's not fair that he's not here and whoever did this is still like running free, living their life, and our lives ... our lives are like on pause and the pain is unbearable," O'Brien said.
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O'Brien said her brother was "my best friend" whom she spoke to daily.
"We would call each other and encourage each other to be better," O'Brien said.
She said she and another sibling, who also lives out of state, immediately traveled to Chicago to mourn with their mother and uncle as soon as they received word of her brother's death, WLS reported.
"We're both in so much pain and so angry that we were robbed of him. Not only that, but he was robbed," she said.
Police officials said that while Huesca was technically off-duty, his death will be considered to have occurred "in the line of duty," as he was heading home from his shift.
Huesca was a six-year veteran of the CPD who worked in the police department's 5th District as a member of the Priority Response Team.
It was the second time in less than a year that an officer from the 5th District was shot to death under similar circ*mstances.
On May 6, 2023, officer Aréanah Preston had just finished her shift and was still in uniform when she was shot and killed while on her way home at about 1:42 a.m., according to Chicago police. Preston's gun was also taken after she was shot, police said.
Four teenagers have been charged in the murder of 24-year-old Preston, according to court documents.
The four suspects "were out looking for victims" that night and are believed to be connected to multiple robberies and a car theft in the hours leading up to Preston's killing, police said.
