Sister of murdered Chicago police officer Luis Huesca asks public to help stop killer: ‘The pain is unbearable’

Describing her family’s pain as ‘unbearable,’ the sister of slain Chicago police officer Luis Huesca implores the public to help investigators identify and arrest a suspect who allegedly shot him and stole his gun and car while that he was coming home from work.

Huesca’s sister, Lily O’Brien, said she asked her 30-year-old brother to move across the country to be close to his nieces and nephews, but said he decided to stay in Chicago and protect your community.

“He chose to stay here, which is why I feel like the community needs to show up for him the same way, because he paid with his life to stay here,” O’Brien told the Chicago ABC station WLS this week.

Huesca was still wearing his uniform when he was shot multiple times two days before his 31st birthday as he walked home from his shift early Sunday in the Gage Park neighborhood on Chicago’s southwest side, according to authorities. Officers found Huesca on the ground outside his home when they responded just before 3 a.m. to investigate a ShotSpotter gunshot alert, police said. Huesca was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

A $10,000 reward has been offered for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of the person(s) who killed Huesca.

Earlier this week, the Chicago Police Department released surveillance video of a person investigators say they are looking for in the killing. Police said the wanted man should be considered armed and dangerous, and asked the public to call them immediately if he is spotted and not approach him.

“It’s not fair that he’s not here and whoever did this is still at large, living his life and our lives… our lives are like on pause and the pain is unbearable,” O said ‘Brien.

O’Brien said her brother was “my best friend” who she spoke to daily.

“We were calling each other and encouraging each other to be better,” O’Brien said.

She said she and another sibling, who also lives out of state, immediately went to Chicago to mourn their mother and uncle as soon as they learned of her brother’s death, WLS reported .

“We are both in so much pain and so angry that it was stolen from us. Not only that, but it was stolen,” she said.

The arrangements for Huesca’s funeral were announced by the police. A private viewing will be held at Blake-Lamb Funeral Home in the Chicago suburb of Oak Lawn on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and will be open to the public from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m.

A funeral is planned for 10 a.m. Monday at St. Rita Shrine Chapel in Cascia on Chicago’s southwest side.

Police officials said that although Huesca was technically not on duty, his death would be considered to have occurred “in the line of duty” while he was returning home from his shift.

Huesca was a six-year CPD veteran who worked in the Police Department’s 5th District as a member of the Priority Response Team.

It was the second time in less than a year that a 5th District officer was shot and killed under similar circumstances.

On May 6, 2023, Officer Aréanah Preston had just finished her shift and was still in uniform when she was shot and killed while walking home around 1:42 a.m., according to Chicago police. Preston’s gun was also confiscated after she was shot, police said.

Four teenagers have been charged with the murder of Preston, 24, according to court documents.

The four suspects “were looking for victims” that night and were believed to be linked to several robberies and a carjacking in the hours before Preston’s killing, police said.