Mayor Brandon Johnson said Martinez had “bravely protected this city” and asked city residents to pray for his family and embrace the police department.

“This tragic loss is deeply painful; the injury is serious,” Johnson said, standing next to Snelling. “The only way we can overcome this tragic loss is if we embrace each other and recognize the courage and bravery of our police department, who risk their lives for us every day.”

One of the vehicle’s occupants, who has not yet been identified, was also shot and killed.

The alleged shooter ran from the vehicle after initially trying to drive away, Snelling said. He was taken into custody after a brief foot chase and search of the area, and the back seat passenger was also arrested.

Snelling said officers recovered a handgun from the person who was fatally shot inside the vehicle, along with another handgun with an extended magazine. After the shooting, an officer reported over police radio that one of the occupants of the vehicle was armed with an “automatic weapon.”

Snelling said an officer also opened fire, although it was not clear who. The Civilian Office of Police Accountability is now investigating the shooting, which was captured in frantic police dispatches that were at times drowned out by screams and radio interference.

“We are transporting one (police officer) to the University of Chicago; “He’s beaten,” an officer said. “Block the streets!”

A false shooting call came minutes before

Minutes before the shooting, a woman reported she had shot someone who tried to get into her 2017 Kia Soul in the 8200 block of South Ingleside Avenue, two blocks south of where Martinez was shot. An officer later radioed that the shooting was not “genuine.”

The woman told the Sun-Times that she falsely reported a shooting after 911 operators explained that a carjacking would not warrant an immediate police response.

The woman, 50, said officers arrived minutes after the false report of the shooting, but Martinez was not among those who responded.

After a brief dispute when officers realized no one had been shot, the woman watched them speed away and suddenly heard screams and “rapid gunfire.”

“Leave it!” The woman said the officers yelled repeatedly.

Late Tuesday morning, the block was quiet. Neighbor John Wilson, 62, expressed his sympathy for Martinez’s family as he reflected on the “savage” shooting.

“I feel sorry for them. He was just doing his job,” said Wilson, who has lived in the area for more than two decades.

The suspect has a criminal record.

On Monday night, uniformed and plainclothes officers gathered at the hospital where Martínez was taken. Some hugged each other; Others were heard screaming.

Snelling said it’s impossible “to know what’s in store for our officers when they’re out there trying to keep the public safe.”

The suspect who remains in custody is a convicted felon who had been placed under electronic monitoring in Will County. Snelling said the tracking device had been disconnected, but noted police were still investigating.

The Will County Sheriff’s Office issued a warrant for his arrest last month and he was charged with a felony for allegedly attempting to thwart a drug test, according to court records. At the time, the 23-year-old was already facing felony cannabis charges.

Chicago police arrested him on Oct. 11 on the warrant and he was later turned over to Will County authorities, court records show. After he was released on electronic monitoring in the new case, Will County prosecutors attempted to detain him pending trial on the cannabis charges. That case continued on October 28.

He previously pleaded guilty to felony shooting at a vehicle in May 2021, court records show.

While detained in jail for that case, he was charged with additional felonies stemming from a group of inmates attacking another inmate. He pleaded guilty to an assault charge that was reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor on the same day as his other plea deal.

He was sentenced to four years in prison in the shooting case, with 728 days served and mandatory supervised release. In the other case, he was only fined and forced to pay court costs, records show.

A spokesman for the Will County state’s attorney’s office said prosecutors are cooperating with the state’s office of pretrial services and the Chicago police homicide investigation, but declined to comment further.

Snelling said officials need to do more to prevent “repeat offenders” from committing crimes.

“We cannot allow people to continue wreaking havoc on this city, victimizing people with violent crimes, robberies and shootings,” he said. “The trauma they are causing to the families and people they attack, they will never be able to take back.”

Union boss calls shooting ‘worst case scenario’

John Catanzara, president of the Fraternal Order of Police, said he has “almost become desensitized” to the violence affecting Chicago police officers.

“It’s part of the landscape, unfortunately,” Catanzara said.

He insisted that the video supposedly showing the deadly encounter demonstrates the delicate line officers must walk. In the video, an officer can be heard repeatedly ordering someone to “stop approaching.”

“They’re going to shoot you,” the officer says before a burst of gunshots rings out. Catanzara said it’s another example of “how quickly things can go wrong.”

“This is the worst case scenario of what many idiots in this city and across the country believe,” Catanzara said, referring to police officers, politicians and prosecutors, “that apparently you have to shoot an officer first or shoot him and killed before it is appropriate to return fire.”

He accused a number of public officials of “defaming the police” and said they should not bother attending Martínez’s funeral. The list included Mayor Brandon Johnson, Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, Inspector General Deborah Witzburg, COPA employees and anyone who voted in favor of the SAFE-T Act criminal justice legislation.

“The only consideration should be what the family’s wishes are,” he said, noting that Martinez’s relatives are also on the police force. “There is no protocol that says the mayor has to be at the funeral, regardless of what this department says and tries to push the family.

“If the family decides they don’t want specific people there, that should be enough.”