A Chicago community activist is offering a $5,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest in the fatal shooting of an off-duty police officer who was killed early Saturday morning in the city's Avalon Park neighborhood.
Officer Areanah Preston was found with multiple gunshot wounds by a fellow officer who had responded to a call of shots fired in the 8100 block of South Blackstone Avenue just after 1:40 a.m. She was rushed from a squad car to the University of Chicago Medical Center where she succumbed to her wounds, authorities said.
Chicago police say the 24-year-old officer was shot while arriving home from work, and as of Sunday, a potential motive remained unclear.
In the hours following Preston's death, community activist Ja'Mal Green announced a $2,000 reward on Facebook, and on Sunday, said the amount had increased to $5,000.
"The fact that somebody would just come grab her life, just like that, they need to be put to justice and held accountable immediately," he said.
Green has called on people to step up and bring Preston's family peace, along with some level of justice.
"Hopefully a reward will get people talking, you know," he said. "We have a code of silence in these neighborhoods. You know, we want people to speak up. We need people to not be scared, to speak up."
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