Chicago Officer Ella French’s Suspects Charged With First-Degree Murder; Another Officer Critically Wounded During Traffic Stop Shooting
Chicago-based brothers linked to the weekend shooting incident during a traffic stop that left one police officer dead and another critically wounded have been charged, the Monday press release of the Chicago Police Department confirmed.
According to Fox News, 21-year-old Emonte Morgan is charged with first-degree murder after Saturday's (Aug. 7) fatal shooting of 29-year-old officer Ella French and the attempted murder of another officer.
Moreover, the brother of Emonte, Eric Morgan, 22, also faced charges. Eric faced unlawful use of a weapon by a felon, aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, and obstruction of justice in his participation in the traffic stop shooting incident.
Based on the Chicago Police Department, the incident happened when the Chicago police officers had stopped a vehicle Saturday with two men and a woman inside just after 9:00 p.m., and its male passenger suddenly opened fire. Officers reportedly returned fire to the suspects and struck the passenger who appeared to fire at them.
Meanwhile, on Monday, Aug. 9, federal prosecutors charged a 29-year-old man from Hammond, Indiana, named Jamel Danzy, of purchasing and illegal supplying the semi-automatic handgun used in the Chicago traffic stop shooting incident. Danzy was accused in the case after he bought a weapon from a licensed gun dealer in Hammond, Indiana, and provided it to an Illinois resident in March who he knew could neither buy nor even possess a gun after a felony conviction.
The person who received the gun of Danzy ended up as someone in the vehicle that shot the officers Saturday night during a traffic stop. The Chicago's U.S. attorney's office stated that the same gun was recovered from the person by arresting officers. The conviction of Danzy would mean a maximum five-year prison sentence.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey T. Gilbert ordered Danzy to be held at least until a Wednesday detention hearing.
READ MORE: 2 Men Hit, Killed by a Train in the Same Spot as Their Brother
Inflow of Gun in Illinois
The city of Chicago has been fighting for years the inflow of guns that has fueled the persistent homicide rates in the city. The inflow of guns came from nearby states like Indiana, where gun rules were not as stringent compared to the state of Illinois.
In a statement, U.S. Attorney John Lausch stated that straw purchasers and firearm traffickers enabled violence with deadly consequences in the city of Chicago.
Since 2018, the death of French was the first fatal shooting of a Chicago officer while serving the country. She was also the first female officer fatally shot on the job in the span of 33 years.
The other wounded officer, the partner of French, was still hospitalized at the University of Chicago Medical Center. The CPD said that the officer is currently in a critical condition and still fighting for his life.
On the other hand, the Morgan brothers were scheduled to appear in a Cook County bond court on Tuesday.
This article is owned by Latin Post
Written by: Jess Smith
WATCH: Charges announced in fatal shooting of Chicago police officer Ella French - WGN News