4 charged with murder of CPD officer Aréanah Preston; no bail
of the city's first-degree murder charges. And like we learned today, it's one of several charges they will be facing. Meanwhile, the department is remembering 24-year-old Ariana Preston, who for the last three years worked out of the Fifth District. You wanted to help create a better future for Chicago, but the incomprehensible actions of four offenders took that future from her and the loss of the city is tremendous. Interim Police Superintendent Eric Carter speaking highly today, a beloved Chicago police officer Ariana Preston, who is now in the state of Chicago, has been working on the investigation of the murder charges. The investigation is being carried out by the Department of Justice. The investigation is being carried out by the state of Chicago and is investigating how the victim was burned by she was shot under Ariana Preston.
The suspects are Travel Briehlin, Joseph Brooks, both who are 18. Jay-Quam Buchanan, who is 19. Jaylen Frazier, who was 16 and charged as an adult. A violent crime spree that court documents show had Officer Preston as the 6th victim. That morning, they had committed several other arm robberies and a vehicle theft. Officials say the group started in the 900 block of East 46th Street, where at they stole personal belongings of a 33-year-old 33 year old woman. They then stole a red Kia Forte in Bronzeville and drove to Washington Heights where again at gunpoint they robbed two other women.
They robbed a man in Calumet Heights before ending the spree outside of Preston's home in Avalon Park. Defendant Brooke stated that all the defendants were armed and that they ran up to victim six, Officer Preston. He further admitted that the officer reached for her gun and that he shot first towards her. They burnt the gun and she was shot. We know that at least three of the four offenders exited the vehicle and we believe that at least two of the offenders fired their weapon. A nearby shot spotter picked up nine rounds, but a source tells WGN there were no available beat cars to dispatch. About 20 minutes later, Preston's own Apple Watch dialed 911 after wrongly detecting a car crash.
Preston was found more than 30 minutes after the shooting on the ground with a gunshot wound to her face and neck. The police reported boasting about the crime spree to friends led to a standoff situation in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood on Monday and the eventual arrest of the suspects. I want to thank the community for its help in bringing closure to and justice to Ariana and thanks to our detectives from Area 2 and the officers who worked tirelessly to identify and apprehend these individuals. Police did not wish to comment on the response time during today's press conference. Through court documents, the police did learn that Preston's gun was stolen at the scene. Frazier admitted to taking the gun and then selling it. Right now, the whereabouts of that weapon are unknown.
The next court date for all suspects is May 30th. Reporting from Police headquarters, Christine Flores WGN News.
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