Police department employee gunned down while unloading groceries
CHICAGO --The search is on for three teens brazenly firing guns while riding bicycles, after a man was fatally struck and a second was seriously injured, reports CBS Chicago.
John Buckner, a 59-year-old civilian employee of the Chicago Police Department (CPD), was unloading groceries from his car Wednesday night outside his home when the shots rang out, reports the station.
Police say Buckner was the victim of a random act of violence when three teens on bicycles zooming down the street started shooting.
"They came down and opened fire on anybody who was out here," a witness said, according to CBS Chicago.
A 41-one year old man sitting on this porch was hit in the ear seconds before Buckner took a fatal shot to the stomach, the station reports.
Police were talking to residents, collecting video and searching for the killers or a member of their extended family, while fellow workers from the CPD gathered at a news conference, reports the station. Buckner, who was know as "Buck," reportedly spent 25 years in the supply and equipment department.
"It's heartbreaking," Deputy Chief Eugene Roy said. "He's unloading groceries from his car with his family. It's senseless, it's absolutely senseless."
According to the station, family members say Buckner was just months away from retiring, after 25 years working with the police department.