Fallen Chicago Police Officer Aréanah Preston was laid to rest on Wednesday in Chicago, nearly two weeks after she was shot and killed near her Avalon Park home following a regular tour of duty.
"She was brave and she was strong," fellow officer Monica Akins said Tuesday during a visitation service at the Blake Lamb funeral home in suburban Oak Lawn. "She serves as an inspiration for all of us, and it reminds us of the oath that we took -- to serve and protect, and that's what she did for the community."
"She was an officer's officer," Akins continued.
Preston's funeral was held at the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago's Washington Heights neighborhood, and was followed by a procession to Preston's final resting place.
According to authorities, Preston at 1:40 a.m. on May 6 was found with gunshot wounds near her home in the 8100 block of South Blackstone Avenue by a fellow officer who was responding to a report of a traffic crash. Preston, who was still in uniform and had recently gotten off work, was rushed from a squad car to the University of Chicago Medical Center where she succumbed to her wounds, officials said.
Four teens have been charged with first-degree murder and a slew of other felonies in connection with Preston's killing, which has been ruled a "line-of-duty" death by the Chicago Police Department.
Trevell Breeland and Joseph Brooks, both 19; Jakwon Buchanan, 18; and a 16-year-old, who will be charged as an adult, all face first-degree murder charges in the fatal shooting, along with additional charges for armed robbery, arson, burglary, possession of a stolen vehicle and unlawful use of a weapon, authorities said.
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"These individuals went out looking for victims in the overnight hours of Friday into Saturday morning and are connected to multiple robberies and a motor vehicle theft earlier that morning," said Eric Carter, who was serving as interim Chicago Police Superintendent at the time of the incident.
In an initial description of the incident, police say the teens got out of a vehicle and ran towards the officer, with at least one person firing a gunshot. Preston returned fire and was shot before one of the teens then took her gun and fled the scene, police said.
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The four teens are currently being held without bond.
According to officials, Preston, 24, had been with the department for three years and worked in the city's West Roseland neighborhood.
According to family members, Preston was set to graduate with a Master's Degree from Loyola University this month, and participate in the commencement ceremony. Instead, her mother accepted her degree posthumously.
"The one thing I can say is I know that we gave our all and my baby is in a better place and we’re gonna get through this," her mother Dionne Mhoon said.
