CHICAGO (WLS) — A procession carried the body of slain Chicago Area Police Officer Preston to the funeral home Tuesday morning.
Several people have been arrested in connection with the shooting.
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Officer Preston works in the Fifth District. A vigil was held there Tuesday night in his honor.
“I'm supposed to be at work tomorrow and I don't know how to do it,” said Officer Lesley Butler.
“Everyone knows who he is and he will receive nothing,” said Fifth District Commander Tyrone Pendarvis.
Chopper 7HD flew overhead as law enforcement lined the street to pay their respects to Officer Preston as his body was transported from the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office to the Blake Lamb funeral home in Oak Lawn.
Long lines of police vehicles with flashing lights, escorting the remains of one of them, had become a very familiar sight.
There was sadness on Tuesday, but also anger.
A procession begins for the fallen Officer Preston Areanah
“This is tough. Not only is he number 600 on our wall, he is more than just a number. He is a shining star. He, and Andres, and Ella, for that matter, are perfect examples of where this department is headed,” said police union president John Catanzara.
A police source told ABC7 at least four people were being held in connection with Preston's murder.
ABC7's I-Team learns that two men and two women have been arrested in connection with the death of Officer Preston. Charges are still pending, even as more information flows out about what happened to the 24-year-old.
“He was coming home to Stony Island. When he got to his house and got out of his car. There were several people who wanted to take things from him,” said Sergeant Vivian Williams. “Officer Preston made it out of rounds. He fought. He was a warrior. He fought to be a good person, he fought to do the right thing, he fought to help this community. He gave his all.”
ABC7 obtained exclusive surveillance video from the morning of shooting. Neighbors said the video showed Officer Preston pulling up outside his home in Avalon Park.
In the video, he is turning off his own car lights and crossing South Blackstone Avenue when a dark car pulls up. At least one person jumped out, then the car accelerated.
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Investigators said Preston, who was days away from graduating with a master's degree from Loyola, was lying in his family's front yard, shooting several times.
The incident left Preston's family and associates terrified.
“If the goal is to come home at the end of the day and he is home, what is the end goal now? What do we do?” the butler wondered.
ABC7's I-Team is aware that at least some of the arrests took place Sunday night when SWAT teams surrounded a home near 77th and South Bishop.
“They could tell they didn't know he was a cop at first,” said Catanzara. “But at some point, when they took his gun and after they shot him, they knew he was a cop and they were still basically robbing him while he was dying. They are people who have this quality that cannot be redeemed. They should spend the rest of their lives. behind bars.”
“I shouldn't be standing here talking about a 24-year-old woman doing everything right,” Williams said. “Then someone who maybe didn't have a chance or wasn't looked after properly. I don't know what caused that to happen. But something must have been different – something had to change.”
His death is officially considered duty, a spokesperson for the CPD said Monday. Officers in District 5 plan to hold an event in his honor on Tuesday. His funeral is still being planned, CPD said.
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