CHICAGO — The man wanted in the fatal shooting of Officer Luis Huesca has been charged with first-degree murder after being arrested Wednesday, according to the Chicago Police Department
Xavier L. Tate Jr. was arrested Wednesday night in Glendale Heights, ending the manhunt for the person accused of killing Huesca while he drove home from work in late April.
Tate has been charged with murder, aggravated vehicular hijacking and possession of a stolen firearm, Chicago Police announced Thursday. He is due to make his first court appearance Friday morning, according to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.
Police issued an arrest warrant for Tate on Friday, saying the 22-year-old Aurora man was wanted in connection with Huesca’s killing. A $100,000 reward for information that led to his capture was offered thanks to combined funds from the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation, the FBI, the Fraternal Order of Police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Tate was arrested by Chicago Police and U.S. Marshals, according to the police department.
Law enforcement officials and Mayor Brandon Johnson are scheduled to announce the charges against Tate in a news conference Friday, the state’s attorney’s office said.
Huesca was killed early April 21 in Gage Park.
At 2:53 a.m., officers went to the 5500 block of South Kedzie Avenue for a report of a gunshot, according to a statement from police. Officers looked around the area and drove to the 3100 block of West 56th Street, where they found Huesca outside with gunshot wounds.
Huesca was taken to University of Chicago Hospital, where he died from his wounds. He was two days away from his 31st birthday and is survived by his mother and uncle.
The officer was driving home from work when he was shot multiple times before his car was stolen, Supt. Larry Snelling said. Huesca’s service weapon was also stolen and later recovered by officers at the South Side home of Tate’s relative, according to the Sun-Times.
A day after the shooting, police released surveillance footage of a person wanted in the shooting who was seen at convenience stores.
Huesca was buried Monday, when Hundreds of police officers lined Southwest Side streets for the procession and hundreds more gathered at St. Rita of Cascia Shrine Chapel, 7740 S. Western Ave., for his funeral.
Supt. Larry Snelling commended Huesca’s “noble heart,” saying he had a knack for learning languages and “soaking up the culture of the places and people he visited.”
“Let’s remember the kindness of this young man, and let’s take something from that,” Snelling said at the funeral.
Support Local News!
Subscribe to Block Club Chicago, an independent, 501(c)(3), journalist-run newsroom. Every dime we make funds reporting from Chicago’s neighborhoods. Already subscribe? Click here to gift a subscription, or you can support Block Club with a tax-deductible donation.
Listen to the Block Club Chicago podcast:
