Chicago Police Officer Luis M. Huesca was shot and killed in the Gage Park neighborhood on Sunday morning, just over one year after one of his best friends and fellow officers was also killed in an act of gun violence.
Huesca, a six-year veteran of the force, was just two days shy of his 31st birthday Sunday when he was shot in the 3100 block of West 56th Street, police said.
Officers scouring the area after a “gunshot detection” alert located Huesca and he was rushed to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The shooting comes just 13 months after the death of Chicago Police Officer Andrés Vásquez-Lasso, who was killed March 1, 2023 while responding to a domestic disturbance call in the 5200 block of South Spaulding Avenue.
Huesca was friends with Vásquez-Lasso, and in a video released by CPD paid tribute to his fallen colleague and friend.
“Andrés was the epitome of the American dream, because he came to this country looking for a way to move upward, make a societal difference,” he said. “Stepped away from mediocrity. Did what others would not do in their lifetime, and actually succeeded in this country. He’s one of those guys that actually deserved this star.”
Huesca said that the tributes paid to Vásquez-Lasso were entirely fitting given his sacrifice and his journey to the Chicago Police Department.
“Had he seen the hundreds of officers that were outside the commemoration, the people that paused during their daily activities, stepped out of their houses, stepped out of their vehicles, and silently held their hands over their hearts…. I think Andrés would have been very proud,” he said.
An investigation into Huesca’s shooting death remains ongoing. Officials say he was in uniform, and that his vehicle was taken following the shooting.