The community in Chicago is mourning a 36-year-old mother and police officer who, according to the Chicago Police Department, was shot and fatally wounded by a fellow officer during a tactical operation this week.
The Chicago Police Department has confirmed that the firearm discharge, which resulted in Officer Krystal Rivera’s death on Thursday night in Chatham, was accidental. This occurred as officers attempted to apprehend an individual suspected of being armed.
ABC7 spoke to a pastor at the church Rivera attended.
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Pastor Daniel Cruz recalls the last time Officer Krystal Rivera attended a service at his Faithworld Church. She appears in a brief church video captured during a worship service.
“She was sharing how she wants her daughter to also just really get to know the faith,” Cruz said.
The Northwest Side church had been her church home for nearly 20 years.
“We were completely shocked. I don’t think I’ve wept as much in recent months as I did after I heard the news… that she had passed away,” Cruz said.
Officer Rivera died Thursday night after police officials said she was unintentionally shot and killed by another officer as they encountered an armed person during a foot pursuit in the 8200 block of South Drexel Avenue in the city’s Chatham neighborhood.
Saturday afternoon, while at an unrelated event, Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling held a moment of silence for the slain officer while asking for prayers for the other officer involved.
“That officer is in a very, very tough place, unimaginable what that officer has to be feeling right now,” Snelling said.
Several people, including the person who allegedly aimed a rifle at officers, remain in police custody.
Rivera, a four-year veteran of the force, was assigned to a 6th District tactical team. She was also single parent to a young daughter whose birthday party is this weekend.
Those who knew Officer Rivera said she had sweet spirit and a servant’s heart.
“When we were talking to Krystal two weeks ago, she was telling us that one of her greatest joys was doing what she’s doing right now, that was her greatest joy,” Cruz said.
According to the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation, seven other Chicago police officers have been killed in the line of duty since 2018.
While many in the city mourn the loss of another Chicago police officer, Pastor Cruz wants Officer Rivera to not only be remembered as one of Chicago’s finest, but also as a loving mother, daughter and sister who dedicated her life to others.
“I try not to focus on how she died, but how she lived, and she just was a precious soul,” Cruz said.
Several officers killed in last two years
Rivera is the fifth Chicago police officer shot and killed since 2023.
Officer Enrique Martinez, 26, was shot and killed during a traffic stop last November in East Chatham.
The suspect in the case is charged with first-degree murder.
Officer Luis Huesca was shot and killed in Gage Park, in April 2024.
The 30-year old was driving home after his shift, when he was ambushed.
The suspect was arrested after a 10-day manhunt and faces numerous charges.
Officer Aréanah Preston, 24, was killed in May 2023. She was shot in an attempted robbery in Avalon Park, as she returned home after her shift.
Four men are charged with her murder.
Officer Andres Vasquez Lasso was shot to death in March of 2023. The 32-year old was responding to a domestic violence incident in Gage Park.
A suspect was arrested and charged.
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