‘Young, vibrant and a hard worker’: CPD officer killed in South Side shooting

CHICAGO (WGN) — A four-year veteran of the Chicago Police Department, who Mayor Brandon Johnson said served “honorably and courageously,” was killed after another officer unintentionally shot her during a call on the city’s South Side Thursday night.

“Our officer was young, vibrant and a hard worker,” police Supt. Larry Snelling said during a morning press conference outside University of Chicago Medical Center, where the officer, later identified as 36-year-old Krystal Rivera, passed away.

Snelling said Rivera, who worked out of the department’s 6th District, was a mother to a “very young daughter.”

Authorities say the deadly shooting unfolded shortly before 10 p.m. as officers pursued a suspect who allegedly fled from a nearby investigatory stop into an apartment near East 82nd Street and South Drexel Avenue.

Snelling said the responding officers were confronted by a second individual who pointed a rifle at them. During the incident, another officer discharged his service weapon and the gunfire struck Rivera unintentionally, CPD announced.

CPD says the only weapon discharged during the call was the weapon of the officer.

Gunfire erupted and Rivera was struck in the back, according to the medical examiner’s office.

Officers on the scene attempted to take Rivera, who was in critical condition, to a nearby hospital, but Snelling said the police cruiser had a “malfunction” and caught fire. Rivera was moved to a second cruiser for transport to the hospital where she was pronounced dead. Her death was ruled a homicide.

A second officer involved in the incident suffered an injury to their wrist and was taken to the hospital in fair condition.

A portion of Drexel Avenue near the apartment remained blocked off at midday as crime scene technicians continued processing evidence. At least three guns were recovered.

Two in custody; investigation continues

Snelling said two individuals in the apartment fled after the shooting but were later apprehended by assisting units.

He also said several persons of interest were taken into custody, including someone who they believe was on the scene when the armed individual confronted the officers.

An investigation into the deadly shooting is now underway by Chicago’s Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA), as well as CPD’s Investigative Response Team. Anyone with information on the shooting can contact COPA on their website or by calling 312-746-3609.

Snelling praises Rivera: ‘She did great work’

The police superintendent said Officer Rivera did ‘great work’ during her four years with the department, including in the hours before her death.

“Prior to going out and attempting to make that stop, she had already processed two other guns working that day,” Snelling said. “She was a working police officer trying to keep the streets safe and she did great work and if you talk to anyone on her team, they would tell you how great of a worker she was.”

Snelling described her as someone who was known among her peers for her work ethic.

“I want everyone to keep this officer’s family in your prayers and understand the risk she took every day when she came out to do her job,” Snelling said. “With no regard and understanding that it’s always possible when you’re doing this type of work that you may not return home.”

Following Friday’s early-morning press conference, firefighters and police officers lined up to pay their respects as a procession carried the fallen officer’s remains.

Officials respond: ‘We mourn the tragic loss’

Leaders from around the area issued statements regarding Rivera’s shooting death.

“We mourn the tragic loss of Chicago Police Officer Krystal Rivera. Our thoughts and prayers are with Officer Rivera’s loved ones and her colleagues at the Chicago Police Department,” a spokesperson for the Cook County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post on Friday morning.

“The Chicago Fire Department grieves alongside our brothers and sisters at CPD for the loss of officer Krystal Rivera who died in the line of duty Thursday evening. Please keep her family and CPD in your thoughts and prayers,” a spokesperson for the Chicago Fire Department said in a post on X.

“I’m calling on the entire city of Chicago to keep this officer’s family in your prayers, along with our entire police department. Her young, energetic and bold approach to keeping us safe is the memory that we will honor,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said.

“As a Chicagoan, I appreciate the service she brought to the city in her time with us. As a parent, I cannot imagine horrific trauma of my wife not coming home to my daughter and I. My heart genuinely goes out to all who knew and loved her,” Ald. Daniel La Spata (1st Ward) said.

“She represented everything we want our police officers to be: smart, assertive, tough, compassionate and professional. Krystal greeted each tour of duty with zeal and enthusiasm and worked every day to make Chatham, and our city, safer,” Chicago Police Memorial Foundation executive director Phil Cline said in a statement. “But more than her love of being a Chicago Police officer, she loved her colleagues and her family dearly. We pray for her daughter, especially, and promise to support her in every way we can in the days, weeks and years to come.”

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Supt. Larry Snelling and Mayor Brandon Johnson discuss the shooting at a 3 a.m. press conference.