Officer fatally shot by partner was a mother and a ‘hero,’ Illinois cops say

A Chicago police officer was fatally shot by a fellow officer while pursuing an armed suspect inside an apartment building, Illinois authorities say.

Officer Krystal Rivera, 36, tried to “make an investigatory stop” of a person she and her partner believed was armed on Chicago’s south side at about 9:50 p.m. Thursday, June 5, Police Superintendent Larry Snelling said at a news briefing early Friday.

The man ran into an apartment and Rivera and her partner pursued him, but ran into a second person who was armed with a rifle and aiming at the officers, Snelling said.

Rivera’s partner opened fire and “unintentionally” shot her, police said in a statement, the Associated Press reported.

On the way to a hospital, the vehicle carrying Rivera crashed and caught fire, according to police. However, she was loaded into a second vehicle by other officers and made it to the hospital.

The officers in the first vehicle are “doing fine,” Snelling said.

Rivera died at the hospital due to her injuries, according to officials.

Rivera was “young, vibrant, and a hard worker,” Snelling said. She was a “hero,” a four-year veteran of the department who joined “to make Chicago a better place,” and also a mother, he said.

Her loss is not only felt by the department, but by her family and friends.

“There’s nothing like walking into a room and having to deliver this type of message to her mother and her very young daughter and the rest of her family,” Snelling said.

Rivera’s daughter, 10-year-old Bella Medina, said her mother hugged her harder than normal before going to work Thursday, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

“When she said bye, it’s like she had a feeling,” Bella told the newspaper. “She gave me the biggest hug, biggest kiss and she said, ‘If anything happens, I’m always right here,’ in my heart.”

Two people who fled the apartment after the chase were caught a short time later by police, according to Snelling.

Adrian Rucker, 25, is accused of aiming a gun at Rivera and her partner, police said, WFLD reported. He is facing a charge of armed violence, as well as firearm and drug charges, according to police.

The incident is under investigation, he said.

This story was originally published June 8, 2025 at 11:20 AM with the headline "Officer fatally shot by partner was a mother and a ‘hero,’ Illinois cops say."