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Officer Shot Near Chicago; Search Underway For Three Suspects; Suspects Thought To Be Armed; Manhunt From Air And On Ground. Aired 1- 1:30p ET

Aired September 01, 2015 - 13:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[13:00:03] BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: He was pursuing them and that was really the last that his colleagues heard of him, right, Deb?

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's exactly right, Brianna. And it happened about 8:00 this morning. It appears that there was reason for this police officer to begin pursuing these three individuals. He was on foot, as you mentioned, and was chasing the three individuals when it appears he radioed in for help for backup. And then, that's when, sort of, the radio went dead. And it appears that at least one of the individuals turned and, perhaps, shot him.

The three individuals are believed to be armed. They were on foot, but it's not clear whether they had a vehicle nearby. It's not even clear as to why this officer alone began chasing these three men, and all of that, clearly, under consideration and under investigation. But we do know that the sheriffs are involved. The ATF is involved. You've got local police.

This is a community and everybody has been warned to stay indoors. You've got canines that are being used which does indicate that at least they do have some belief, authorities, that, in fact, these three men are on foot. There's also air surveillance, you can see the helicopter there, looking for these three men. Whether they stay together, whether they split up, that will clearly complicate the search.

But, again, right now, a big manhunt underway. The three suspects, two of them described as white, another male African-American. And, right now, those are the three individuals that are being looked for right now -- Brianna.

KEILAR: OK. Deb Feyerick, stand by for us as we go to Tom Fuentes here. He's our CNN Law Enforcement Analyst and he's joining me on the phone. Tom, at this point, authorities are not saying anything about the condition of this officer who was shot and injured and discovered by other police officers. But what we do know is that he was on the radio telling dispatch that he was pursuing these three suspects and then communications were lost. Knowing that, what do you think we're really looking at here?

TOM FUENTES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST (via telephone): OK, I think the most important thing, Brianna, is whether or not the officer, when asking for backup, was able to, you know, give an accurate description of any or all of the three as he was pursuing them or what led to why he was actually interested in them in the first place. So, we don't know if they had already come up on intelligence or what. But, you know, we're hoping to find out shortly with the police press conference.

KEILAR: Is that something that he may have radioed, some sort of description or some sort of description of their behavior that gave him cause to be in pursuit and, perhaps, police are just waiting to release that information?

FUENTES: I think so. The fact that he asked for backup, you know, he probably gave some information as to -- as to why he was asking for a backup and who he was asking -- you know, who he was interested in, who are the suspicious people that he was looking at. So, I think that, you know, hopefully, the police will have some, you know, more information about that, at some point, so that they can put out a description of the people involved in this.

KEILAR: This is a suburb, obviously, and you can even see in the pictures that we're showing right now, there are school buses. As we see the search underway with emergency vehicles, we see helicopters there. We know canines are involved here. What really is the process here in this manhunt looking for these suspects?

FUENTES: Well, I think just, you know, get as many officers as they can into that area and try to look for the people. And, like I said, we hope that there's enough of a description that they know what they're looking for. I'm not sure how the dogs would be able to determine what scent to follow in that situation, if they bring canine units out there. But, you know, the question is going to be is what kind of description? Was he on some kind of surveillance? Did he have some other indication in (INAUDIBLE) in progress, let's say (INAUDIBLE.)

KEILAR: OK, we are losing Tom there. Tom, stay with me. We're going to try and make sure we get a better connection with you. But I want to bring Deb Feyerick back in. Deb, this is an area -- this is a suburb. This is where a lot of people live. There are a lot of families there. We understand that some of the schools in the area are on lockdown, at this point. There are local reports that we verified, Gavin school district said it's on soft lockdown status. There are other schools in nearby suburbs that are on lockdown status as well. Do we know anything about what officials are telling people in this area to be cautious about, to be on the lookout for?

FEYERICK: Well, look, one of the most important things, both for the people who are in that neighborhood but also for law enforcement, is to make sure that any bystander is safe and is inside. That's why it is safer for children, safer for people who might be on the roads to, basically get to an area where they can shelter in place. That is critical.

[13:05:20] It is for their safety but is also because law enforcement does not know where these three individuals are going. They don't know where they're headed. They began on foot that much we do know. But it's unclear whether they may have picked up some sort of a car, some sort of a vehicle, and may be now on the road.

So, what began as sort of a contained or smaller area may grow exponentially larger if, in fact, they do have some sort of vehicle and have managed to hit the highway. But, right now, you've got a lot of authorities, the sheriff, this is being headed up by the Lake County Major Crime Task Force, this investigation. You've got members of different federal agencies that are also involved in this manhunt.

It does not -- it's unclear, actually, as to what started this whole incident. It appears that the police officer may have had reason to stop these individuals or approach these individuals and then, all of a sudden, all we know is that the officer began chasing them. He ray -- he radioed in for help and that is the last that authorities are saying they heard from this particular officer.

So, whether the individuals turned and opened fire, not clear. But, again, these individuals are considered armed and they're considered dangerous. And the big thing that authorities want is to make sure that there are no more victims. And that's why everybody is being told to stay inside, to shelter in place, and just, right now, it's a state of a lockdown.

KEILAR: All right, Deb, stay with us. We do want to look at some sound that we just got in. This was a short time ago. We heard some more details from the Lake County, Illinois sheriff which is handling this case, at this point. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTOPHER COVELLI, SARGEANT, LAKE COUNTY, ILLINOIS SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: This morning at approximately 7:50 in the morning, a Fox Lake police officer indicated he was out with three suspicious subjects. This was in the area of Route 12 and Seton Road in Fox Lake. He described the subjects as two male whites and one male black. A short time thereafter, he radioed into communications that he was in a foot pursuit when communication was lost with the officer. His backup officer arrived on the scene and located him injured with a gunshot wound.

There are three suspects at large, at this time. Again, described two male whites, one male black and I don't have a further description. At this point, we're -- this is a two-pronged investigation, so we have our -- we're looking into the apprehension of the three subjects at large. We're utilizing multiple resources for that. We have numerous canines on the ground checking for scents. We have numerous helicopters and aircrafts in the air. We have a large number of officers on foot conducting searches of the area.

At this time -- in connection with that, we're working the investigation of the officer who was injured. So, the major crime task force, Lake County Major Crime Task Force, has been called in for that and is heading up that investigation. We'll have more information available as it progresses. Possibly another press conference later this afternoon or this evening.

At this time, we're asking all area residents to remain inside, report any suspicious activity, any suspicious people by dialing 911 as we still have three offenders at large. Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: That was the Lake County Sheriff's Department which is handling this case. Just to recap what we are following here. Breaking news coming into CNN, developing as we speak. The shooting of a police officer in Fox Lake, Illinois. Something that this community is not accustomed to. This is a suburb northwest of Chicago that is certainly not known for violence at all.

But what we understand, as you heard there from the sheriff's office, there was an officer who was in pursuit of three male suspects, two of them white, one of them black. And, at this point, they are at large. The officer that was following the suspicious subjects as he radioed into dispatch ended up losing communications with this dispatch. When other officers, backup officers, came upon the scene, they found him shot. He was injured.

We're still awaiting details of what his condition is. But this is a community right now under lockdown, facing a giant manhunt by air, many officers on the ground, canine units involved as well. We are going to continue to follow this developing story and we'll have more for you after a quick break.

[13:09:53]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: We have breaking news in here at CNN as this huge manhunt is underway in a suburb northwest of Chicago. The officer who was shot by suspects there, we have just learned, has passed away. That he actually died at the scene. This is coming to us from a law enforcement source. The Fox Lake, Illinois police officer, I'm reading this, we just got this in, who was shot this morning at about 8:00 a.m., died at the scene. This is what a law enforcement source who has knowledge of the investigation is telling CNN, at this time.

This is about an hour outside of Chicago. This is a huge manhunt that is underway with officers, you can see them there in these pictures, going door to door. Schools are under lockdown as these three suspects, described by authorities, as two white men and one black man are currently at large, at this point.

So, again, this officer shot near Chicago this morning died at the scene.

[13:15:00] KEILAR: We have just learned this breaking news coming into CNN.

I want to bring in now -- I'm being told we have Christopher Covelli. He is the representative from the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

First off, Christopher, our condolences. This is -- I can only imagine what your department is going through at this point. Give us -- give us an update here as we've just learned that this officer was killed in this shooting. COVELLI (via telephone): Yes. This morning at approximately 7:52 a.m.,

a Fox Lake police officer radioed in that he was out with three suspicious suspects. He described them as being two male whites and two male blacks -- two male whites and a male black. Shortly thereafter he called out that he was in foot pursuit when radio communication was lost with him. As backup arrived shortly thereafter on the scene and found the officer wounded with a gunshot wound.

As of now, the three subjects do remain at large. And, again, they're being described as two male whites and one male black. We have numerous resources in place in an attempt to apprehend these individuals. We have several aircraft in the air, numerous dogs on the ground, and many, many law enforcement officers on the ground as well. And then -- and we're working the investigation in conjunction with the apprehension of the offenders.

KEILAR: You said a gunshot wound. Was it a single gunshot wound?

COVELLI: I can't confirm how many.

KEILAR: Give us a sense here of this search. We do have some pictures that we're looking at. We've seen police officers on foot patrol. We've seen canine units. We know there are helicopters. How big is this search area and what is this search area like? Is it residential? It looks like part of it may be wooded.

COVELLI: It's both. It's -- we're searching in an area that is wooded, swampy, as well as a residential area. So we have numerous, numerous resources being used to apprehend these individuals.

KEILAR: How big is this? Is this several square miles? Is this a pretty small area?

COVELLI: I can't comment on the exact area of the search area.

KEILAR: And what are you telling residents? We understand a number of school district, schools, have been posting online to let parents know that they're under lockdown. What are you advising them?

COVELLI: Absolutely. We're advising everybody to remain very conscientious, to remain locked down in their homes as well. If they see anything suspicious whatsoever, please call 911 immediately, whether they think it's something minor or something major. But we're asking for the public to call us if they see anything unusual or anybody matching these descriptions in this area.

KEILAR: And, Detective Covelli, just give us a sense of what this community is like. I know that this is -- this is an area that is not really accustomed to much crime like this, right? This is a -- this is a sort of peaceful, relatively peaceful, residential community.

COVELLI: Yes. Our county as a whole is a peaceful community. So, you know, we're working on apprehending these individuals.

KEILAR: And what can you tell us about -- more information as it will be coming in? This will be -- are there any other plans for a press conference today?

COVELLI: Should more information develop, we'll look at having a press conference this afternoon or early evening.

KEILAR: And just if you can -- I know the -- what we just have in now from a source is that the officer has passed away. So that is something that the department is now confirming, correct?

COVELLI: That's correct.

KEILAR: OK. Our sincerest condolences to you, Detective Covelli, and to your entire department. I know this will be a very tough loss for you and for the community. Thanks so much for talking to us.

COVELLI: Thank you. Bye-bye.

KEILAR: All right. Do we have Ryan Young on the -- we have our -- we have our law enforcement analyst Tom Fuentes joining us now on the phone.

Tom, this is -- this is what we have just learned, that this police officer was killed at the scene. Can you give us a sense, because it seems like this is something that has been known now for a couple hours and there's obviously been a delay in authorities putting it out there. What is the rationale behind that?

FUENTES (via telephone): Well, I think probably notification of next of kin, you know, Brianna. You know, I had heard the same -- the same reporting a while ago that the officer had been killed but did not want to say so on the air and certainly didn't want to confirm that until CNN or the police department actually was able to confirm it. But I would think they're trying to -- if this officer has family, they're trying to locate the family and speak to them. And if he has children in school, to go get the children and bring them home, get them out so they don't hear it from other people or hear it on the radio or TV. So that normally is the reason.

[13:20:00] And I think here -- the problem here is that because he passed away at the scene, the little -- the limited radio description that he gave is about all they have to work on at the moment. So he wasn't -- if he survived, you know, hopefully then he could describe who the individuals are or give an adequate description, identify them if they were apprehended. But, you know, that's not going to be possible now. So the hope is that the police, the major crimes task force, has enough intelligence to know about if there's a burglary crew with two whites and a black or a (INAUDIBLE) robbery crew or some other group of known criminals that worked together like that that maybe that will help give them some indication of where to start looking, as well as just the manhunt itself. But it's going to be very difficult without a more detailed physical description, especially if they've split up and it's the middle of a work day there now and people can go and, you know, just walk around if there's no adequate description, it could be very difficult.

KEILAR: All right, Tom, stay with me here. We're actually going to get a quick break in after we recap -- recap what's happened here. Just in now to CNN, this police officer who was shot by -- who was shot near Chicago about an hour northwest of Chicago has died. We are just learning that now from a source and it's been confirmed for us by the Lake County Sheriff's Department, which is overseeing this investigation in this manhunt.

This normally peaceful, affluent, residential community facing a massive manhunt right now. Schools under lockdown. Police officers are going door to door. We'll be talking with our law enforcement analyst about this manhunt after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:26:07] KEILAR: We have breaking news just in to CNN. A police officer in Illinois shot and killed. The officer has passed away, we just learned, from officials there in Fox Lake, Illinois. This is a suburb of Chicago that is currently on lockdown as a massive manhunt is underway for three suspects.

I want to bring in Deb Feyerick. She's been following the latest on this.

We can see in these pictures that we're looking at, Deb, there are so many officers who are on foot, helicopters, we just saw one go through the screen there, and canine units as this community is on lockdown.

FEYERICK: Yes, absolutely. And, obviously, when you've got a police officer who's been involved in this kind of tragedy, you're going to have a heavy, heavy police presence. Now, we do know that this individual, this officer, was chasing three suspects. He was on foot. He had actually radioed into dispatch in order to get help identifying where he was. And after that, communications ended.

It appears that he was injured, possibly shot, by one of these individuals. They were initially on foot. It's not clear whether, in fact, they have a vehicle or whether they may be driving now. What we do know is that this happened near U.S. Route 12, which runs sort of northwest to southeast through the Chicago metropolitan area. So it is a main highway. And if those individuals were able to get on to that highway, this manhunt is going to be a lot, lot larger.

So what you do have now is, as you mentioned, you've got dogs, the canines, who are on the ground, trying to figure out where these individuals, these suspects may have run after killing this police officer and where they might be now. We don't know how much information the police officer was able to give to dispatch before chasing these individuals. We don't know, and we're trying to find out, whether, in fact, there were witnesses who may have seen what happened and who may be able to identify some sort of a vehicle.

All of this is part of an intense investigation and an intense manhunt. We do know it happened about 8:00 this morning. The entire area, Brianna, is now on lockdown. And you can see these helicopters in the air as they sort of penetrate to see whether they can see any individuals either in the community or either along the tree line. We do know that the homes, schools, all of it on lockdown. People being told to stay inside. What authorities do not want to happen is, they don't want to see a further tragedy by anybody who may be in that area who may encounter these three individuals.

Two white men, one African-American man. That's who authorities right now are looking for. The sheriff is involved. We know that the Lake County Major Crime Task Force is heading up this investigation. You've got ATF. You've got a lot of other agencies also pitching in because one of their own has now been shot and killed.

Brianna.

KEILAR: All right, Deb, stay with me. We'll be coming back to your momentarily.

I do want to talk to Ryan Young, he's our CNN correspondent there on the ground. He's heading from Chicago right now to this community of Fox Lake, Illinois, where this police officer has been shot and killed and the suspects are currently at large.

Ryan, this is -- talking to officials there, this is not a community that is accustomed to violence of this sort of magnitude at all. This is a -- this is a suburb and a relatively peaceful community where people live, go about their lives. We see some wooded areas. It's known for being a lake area that draws a lot of people. This is -- this is very abnormal.

RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): It is. And this is a community of about 10,000 people. And something that we should point out, a lot of people use the homes there for weekend homes. So one thing that officers are going to have to contend with is all the homes that may not be occupied during the week as people who are out of town and usually use those homes for the weekend and being on the lake. So you could have these three suspects who may have gone into a vacant home in the area. They're going to have to really put a search print (ph) out there to make sure that none of the homes that are vacant during the week are being used by these three suspects.