(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- The shooting fatality of a 36-year-old Illinois State Police trooper Friday on the Dan Ryan Expressway is being classified as a “death investigation,” the state police director said.
Trooper Gerald Mason was found shot in his police cruiser in the inbound lanes at 43rd by passersby around 2 p.m. He was rushed to University of Chicago Medical Center and pronounced dead.
Investigators closed northbound lanes for hours to investigate. Officials said it was an officer-involved shooting but did not elaborate.
Illinois State Police Director Brendan F. Kelly told reporters the investigation with the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office was "ongoing." He indicated there was no threat to the general public or other officers.
Mason, who had been with the state police for 11 years, died of a single gunshot, the agency said.
"Trooper Mason was one of the many fearless Troopers assigned to ISP District Chicago. We are asking the public to respectfully give consideration to the family of Trooper Mason and the whole ISP family while we continue to grieve and work through this tragedy,” Director Kelly said in a message posted online.
“My heart won’t stop racing,” Mason’s mother, Linda, said at the hospital. “That’s my baby, my firstborn. I know he loved what he do, so this is what he wanted. This was his life, but it hurts to lose him.”
On Thursday, state police said they were increasing evening and overnight patrols in Chicago after an unprecedented rise in shootings on area expressways. More than 185 shootings have been reported on Chicago expressways so far this year, over double last year.
The stepped-up patrols were to begin Friday evening.
Contributing: Sun-Times Media Wire & Chicago Sun-Times 2021.
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