Thousands of dollars has been raised in less than 24 hours to help the families of two Chicago police officers who were hit and killed by a train while responding to a call of shots fired Monday.
The GoFundMe campaigns for Officer Conrad Gary and Officer Eddie Marmolejo collectively have more than $20,000 as of 1:30 p.m. Tuesday.
The young officers each leave behind wives and children.
The fundraiser for the Marmolejo family, which includes the officer's wife and three young girls, raised a little more than half its $10,000 goal in two hours Tuesday. Within six hours, the campaign for the Gary family, which includes his wife and young daughter, had raised more than $15,000.
The campaigns also are listed on the Fraternal Order of Police: Chicago Lodge No. 7 Facebook page.
GoFundMe said both campaigns were verified and the company guarantees the money will get to the families.
"This holiday will never be the same for those two families," Mayor Rahm Emanuel said. "Our hearts are with them."
A cousin of Marmolejo said the family has been devastated by the tragedy.
Marmolejo, 36, and Gary, 31, were working as partners on Monday night and had a combined four years on the force, authorities said. Gary had been with the department for 18 months, while Marmolejo had been with CPD for two-and-a-half years.
They were responding to a report of shots fired around 7 p.m. near East 103rd Street and South Cottage Grove Avenue in the city's Rosemoor neighborhood, officials said.
The location above a viaduct has eight tracks where, at any given time, two commuter lines and a freight line operate trains.
Police said the officers were both on foot when they were struck by the passing train.
According to Chicago Police Department spokesman Tom Ahern, body camera footage recovered from the scene showed a northbound train heading toward the officers, who were standing on southbound tracks when they were suddenly hit. Authorities believe the northbound train drowned out the sounds of a southbound train approaching the officers from behind.
According to Ahern, the officers were heard on camera "talking to each other" up until the moment they were struck.
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Both officers were assigned to CPD's 5th District - Calumet, which covers several Far South Side neighborhoods including Roseland and West Pullman.
The district has "faced tragedy after tragedy this year," Supt. Eddie Johnson said at a news conference Monday night, referring to three other deaths - two suicides and another on-duty death.
Johnson and First Deputy Anthony Riccio were at the scene for hours overnight supervising the investigation.
A procession escorted the officers' bodies to the Cook County medical examiner's office early Tuesday morning, with several members of the Chicago Police and Fire departments paying their respects along the way.
A weapon and shell casings were recovered from the scene and one person was in custody, charged with a "firearms violation," Ahern said. That charged was pending review by the Cook County State's Attorney, he said.
