Chicago police officer, shot in chest in Chatham, has died: 'She was a hero.'
Krystal Rivera, a Gresham District tactical officer, has died after being shot in the 8200 block of South Drexel Avenue. Officers rushing her to a hospital crashed, and their car caught fire.
By Tom Schuba and Kade Heather
Updated Jun 6, 2025, 7:19am CDT
Slain Officer Krystal Rivera as a new cop in October 2021, told the Sun-Times after graduating from the academy that she always knew she wanted to be a police officer. “For me, it’s a privilege,” she said. “I come from a family of serving. To help people in need, that’s my calling.”
A “young, vibrant and hard working” Chicago police officer who was shot in the chest during a pursuit Thursday night in Chatham on the South Side has died, police said.
The officer, who was 36 and a mother of a “very young daughter,” was a four-year veteran assigned to the Gresham District tactical team, Chicago police Supt. Larry Snelling told reporters early Friday.
Officer Krystal Rivera was pronounced dead at 10:19 p.m. Thursday, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
“She was a hero, and she lost her life tragically,’' Snelling said.
She was young, vibrant and a hard worker,” said Snelling, who added she had “already processed two other guns working that day.
“She was a working police officer trying to keep the streets safe,” he said. “Working hard, extremely hard, to save lives.”
“This young woman served honorably and courageously,’’ said Mayor Brandon Johnson, who spoke at the early morning briefing. “Her young energetic and bold approached towards keeping us safe is the memory that we will honor.”
Rivera was on patrol with other officers when they tried to conduct an investigatory stop on a male suspect in the 8200 block of South Drexel Avenue about 9:50 p.m., the police said in a written statement.
They said that, as the officers approached, the suspect ran into a nearby building. When officers pursued him into the building, they were confronted by an armed man, and an officer discharged his weapon, police said.
The officer was shot in her chest, and the gunman ran from the home but was taken into custody, according to the statement.
“Shots fired at police,” an officer screamed over the radio while calling for assistance.
Officers attempting to rush the wounded officer for treatment crashed, and their car caught fire, sources said.
“The transport vehicle is on fire,” an officer said over police radio.
The wounded officer, who sources say was shot with a rifle, was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where she died, police said.
