Manhunt continues for killer of Illinois police officer

As night fell, scores of police in Lake County were continuing to search for three people believed to be responsible for fatally shooting a police lieutenant Tuesday morning, while residents of the small village he served mourned his death.

Despite a manhunt that besieged far north suburban Fox Lake all day, authorities said late Tuesday that no arrests had been made in the shooting death of Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz, a 30-year-veteran known in local law enforcement for his work with aspiring police officers. Gliniewicz, known to many as Joe, was married with four children, according to police and family.

He’d recently discussed retiring as soon as this month, said Fox Lake Mayor Donny Schmit.

“He’s got four sons who are going to have to go on alone,” said Terry Resetar, the fallen officer’s mother-in-law.

Because of the ongoing search, several school districts in the area — Fox Lake District 114, Saint Bede Catholic School, Big Hollow District 38 and Gavin District 37, along with Grant High School — all announced they will be closed Wednesday.

More than 100 officers were expected to continue searching overnight Tuesday for the attackers. All day, officers from throughout the Chicago region, sweating in bulky tactical gear and toting high-powered rifles, combed the village of about 10,000 near the Wisconsin border. Helicopter blades pounded overhead as traffic froze and schools went on lockdown.

Gliniewicz, 52, was on routine patrol around 8 a.m. when he radioed that he was responding to suspicious activity, according to the Lake County sheriff’s office. He started a foot pursuit, but no one heard from him after that, authorities said.

His colleagues responded and found him shot in a marshy area near U.S. Highway 12, a main road through town, authorities said. His gun was found near him, said Lake County Undersheriff Raymond Rose. Gliniewicz died at the scene, Rose said.

The offenders should be treated as armed and dangerous, Rose said. He said police were working with “limited descriptions” of the suspects.

Known to some as “G.I. Joe,” the trim, muscular, tattooed Gliniewicz had served in the Army, according to his Facebook page. He was known locally for his work with Fox Lake’s police Explorers program, which gives youths who aspire to careers in law enforcement an up-close experience.

“He, as the leader of that, had a tremendous impact on a lot of young people in the county,” Rose said.

Fatal shootings of police in Illinois have been relatively rare, and Gliniewicz is the first on-duty officer shot and killed in Lake County since 1980, said State’s Attorney Mike Nerheim.

Homicides are rare in Fox Lake; the agency didn’t report any murders to the state in several recent years, according to data kept by Illinois State Police.

The manhunt interrupted life around Fox Lake and well beyond the village, as roads closed, police advised residents to stay inside and Metra trains halted. Many schools in the area went on lockdown, with police and school administrators choreographing the release of students to parents who waited on clogged local roads to pick them up.

Michael Drewer, 35, of Fox Lake, owner of DipStick Oil Change, arrived at work to find swarms of police blocking off roads.

“They checked our security video and then told me I wouldn’t be doing any business today,” Drewer said.

Flags flew at half-staff outside the Police Department after the shooting, and Gina Mariea stood along Route 12 near the shooting scene with a sign that said “Police Lives Matter.” Her teenage son served under Gliniewicz in the Explorers program, and the officer was a mentor to him, she said.

“I’m out here because this is my town, this is my community, and I’m supporting law enforcement,” Mariea said.

During the day, police went door-to-door. As night fell, some 40 police dogs and their handlers were searching for the attackers while helicopters equipped with heat sensors scanned the area, Rose said.

Several hundred police from agencies as far away as Joliet helped with the manhunt, Rose said. That was important, he said, so police could cycle in and out of the hunt. Several officers were taken by ambulance from the scene after being overcome by sweltering heat, Rose said. Others were treated at the scene.

“Every major law enforcement agency you can think of” assisted on-site or remotely, Rose said, citing the ATF, FBI and Secret Service. He lamented the need for police to respond to the shooting of one of their own.

“We can’t keep going like this,” he said. “We can’t keep doing this.”

Dan Hinkel is a Chicago Tribune reporter; Dan Moran and Frank Abderholden are News-Sun reporters. Lisa Black, Jim Newton, John Keilman and Lauren Zumbach of Tribune Newspapers and freelancer Amanda Marrazzo contributed.

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