Illinois police hunt for 3 suspects after officer killed

A police helicopter patrols a swampy area near route 59 and Rollins in Fox Lake, Ill., where a manhunt is in progress after an officer was shot and killed Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2015.
A police helicopter patrols a swampy area near route 59 and Rollins in Fox Lake, Ill., where a manhunt is in progress after an officer was shot and killed Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2015.

FOX LAKE, Ill. — Police in northern Illinois say a manhunt is underway after an officer was shot and killed while pursuing a group of suspicious men.

Lake County sheriff's office spokesman Sgt. Christopher Covelli said Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewitz, 52, radioed in Tuesday morning to tell dispatchers he was chasing three men on foot, but communication with him was lost shortly after.

Covelli said the Gliniewitz's backup arrived to found him injured with a gunshot wound and that the officer died at the scene.

He was killed in Fox Lake, 55 miles north of Chicago.

Undersheriff Raymond Rose told the Chicago Tribune that Gliniewitz was stripped of his gun and other equipment.

Mayor Donny Schmit said that Gliniewitz had been with the Fox Lake Police Department for three decades and was the father of four sons.

Law enforcement officers are conducting a large manhunt with helicopters, dogs and officers on foot.

Nearby Grant Community High School has been locked down.

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