CHICAGO — An Illinois State Police trooper has died after being shot Friday afternoon on the Dan Ryan Expressway on Chicago’s South Side.
ISP Police Director Brandan Kelly said 36-year-old Trooper Gerald Mason had been on the force for 11 years.
Kelly said in a release that the shooting is being treated as a death investigation, and not as a homicide.
Mason was found just before 2 p.m. in his squad car with a single gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the University of Chicago Medical Center.
“It is with profound heartache and unfathomable sadness that we inform you of the death of Trooper Gerald Mason, Kelly said in a statement.
“Trooper Mason was one of the many fearless Troopers assigned to ISP District Chicago. We are asking the public to respectfully give consideration to the family of Trooper Mason and the whole ISP family while we continue to grieve and work through this tragedy,” Kelly also said.
The trooper’s death came on the same day that ISP beefed up patrols on the state’s expressways in response to a rash of shootings.
