This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is at risk of suicide please call the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255, text HOME to 741741 or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources.
The death of an Illinois state trooper who died following a shooting on the Dan Ryan Expressway in Chicago was ruled a suicide, the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office said Saturday.
An autopsy found that Trooper Gerald Mason died Friday from a gunshot wound to the head.
Mason, 35, was found with a gunshot injury at approximately 1:43 p.m. while in his patrol vehicle on the northbound lanes of the Dan Ryan near 43rd Street. An off-duty officer used his radio to call for help, sending a swarm of law enforcement to the scene.
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Mason was rushed to the University of Chicago Medical Center in a Chicago police vehicle and pronounced dead at approximately 2:16 p.m.
Outside the hospital, the trooper's mother, Linda Mason, remembered her son, calling him a kind person who always wanted to be a police officer and protect others.
"I love him, I'm going to miss him so so so so much, my heart hurts so bad," she said Friday.
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A procession consisting of state troopers, Chicago police officers and other law enforcement members escorted Mason's body from the University of Chicago Medical Center to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office Friday afternoon.
Brendan Kelly, director of the Illinois State Police, said 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," he said in a statement.
ISP was conducting an investigation into Mason's death.
The shooting came one day after Illinois State Police announced they were doubling their patrol presence on expressways amid an increase in shootings starting Friday evening. Troopers were relocated from around the state to District Chicago to help with staffing.
