Chicago officer shot and killed by 23-year-old convicted felon, police say

A man accused of killing a 26-year-old Chicago police officer was set to appear in court Thursday on multiple charges.

The identified the suspect as Darion McMillian, 23, a convicted felon now charged with first-degree murder in the deadly shooting of Officer Enrique Martinez.

"This offender is a convicted felon who was on electronic monitoring out of Will County. Needless to say, this individual should not have been on our streets with a fully automatic weapon, a weapon used to kill Officer Martinez, as well as another individual who was in the car with the offender," Superintendent Larry Snelling said Wednesday during a news conference.

McMillian is also facing several other charges, including an extra count of first-degree murder, one count of attempted murder of a police officer, one count of residential burglary, one count of unlawful use of a weapon (machine gun), and one count of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon by a felon.

Chief of Detectives Antoinette Ursitti said Martinez and another officer approached a car during a traffic stop and began talking to the driver Monday around 8 p.m.

McMillian, who was sitting in the passenger seat, reached for a bag on the floor.McMillian ignored commands from officers to stop reaching and held up "a fully automatic handgun equipped with a machine gun conversion device and an extended magazine" and opened fire.

Martinez, as well as the driver of the car, were both shot and killed, saidUrsitti. The chief added thatMcMillian then shoved the driver's body out of the car and got in the driver's seat.

"As another officer attempted to pull McMillian out of the driver's seat, McMillian put the vehicle in reverse, dragging the officer," Ursitti said, noting that the officer fired his gun once, with the bullet hitting the ground.

The car crashed into a parked car, withMcMillian running into an apartment, where he used a knife to cut off his ankle monitor before running off again.

Officers soon tracked down McMillian and he was taken into custody. The gun used to kill Martinez, as well as the driver, was found in the car and recovered from the scene.

Police said the officer who was dragged suffered minor injuries and is doing as well as can be expected after seeing his partner get gunned down.

"Officer Martinez was killed by the violence he worked to stop," Snelling said. "I want that to resonate with everyone. Knowing the risks out in these streets, Officer Martinez, and all of our police officers, run towards this danger ro protect everyone in this city. We all need to be outraged at the violent offenders who are creating endless cycles of trauma in our communities. We need to be outraged at the proliferation of guns that are killing our residents, our children, and our first responders. Anger doesn't describe the feeling that I feel right now."

Snelling added that Martinez had been on the job for nearly three years, describing the fallen officer as brave, focused, and energetic.

The department shared a photo on Facebook in honor of Martinez, as well as posted footage of officers escorting him to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office.

"The Chicago Police Department is mourning the loss of a courageous hero who protected our city until the very end," the department wrote in a separate post. "We stand heartbroken alongside his family and loved ones. In grief, we will never forget."

Police said the case remains under investigation.