2023-05-07 00:16:01
CHICAGO (AP) — An off-duty Chicago policewoman was shot and killed Saturday as she was returning home to the south side of the city following finishing her shift.
Police were shot around 1:42 a.m. in the city’s Avalon Park neighborhood, police said.
Another police officer found her wounded following going to the scene following an alert from the city’s gunshot detection system, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
The second officer rushed her to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead. The slain officer had been with the Chicago police for approximately three years.
No one has been arrested.
Family members identified the deceased police officer as 24-year-old Areanah Preston, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
“He was trying to make a change on this Earth,” his father, Allen Preston, told the newspaper.
Preston, who lives in Los Angeles, described his daughter as a “beautiful soul” who “always saw the best in people.”
“She was my baby. Everything he did was for her,” he said. “I do not know what to do now. I’m going to deal with this for the rest of my life.”
On Saturday morning, more than a dozen family members gathered outside Areanah Preston’s home.
“She was definitely a role model with a career path that just didn’t stop,” said her aunt Sonia Rawsk.
Areanah Preston earned her degree in Criminal Justice and Police Administration from Illinois State University.
Professor Charles Bell told the Sun-Times that he “was very passionate regarding making a difference and showing young people that policing is a profession that can make a difference in the community.”
“He was very aware of many of the issues that he felt had manifested themselves in the Chicago community,” Bell added. “She was a reformer. She would spot a problem and dedicate herself to making a difference.”
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