2 police officers shot while responding to call at hotel in Illinois

One of the officers died and the other is in hospital with a serious injury.

December 30, 2021, 1:24 PM

One police officer is dead and another is in serious condition after being shot while responding to a call at a hotel in Kankakee County, Illinois, Wednesday night.

The two Bradley Police Department officers were responding to a report about dogs barking in an unattended vehicle in the parking lot of a Comfort Inn, according to ABC News station WLS in Chicago.

The officers were shot during an altercation while they were on the scene, according to the Kankakee County Sheriff's Office.

After finding the vehicle, they headed to a room inside the hotel where the vehicle's possible owner was staying. While talking to the room's occupants, those individuals attacked the officers, shooting them, the sheriff's office told ABC 7 Chicago.

Bradley, Ill., police sergeant Marlene Rittmanic is pictured in an image released by Bradley Police on Dec. 30, 2021. She died after a shooting that occurred while she was responding to a call at a Comfort Inn in Kankakee County, Ill., on Dec. 29.
Bradley Police

Authorities have not apprehended the alleged shooters. They are asking for information about or the location for 25-year-old Darius Sullivan. The sheriff's office said he should be considered armed and dangerous.

The incident occurred just after 9:40 p.m. on Wednesday, authorities said.

The two officers were taken to nearby hospitals, according to ABC 7 Chicago.

People watch a procession in honor of Bradley Police Sergeant Marlene Rittmanic, who was killed in the line of duty, in Kankakee, Ill., Dec. 30, 2021.
WLS

Sgt. Marlene Rittmanic, one of the officers shot, was killed. A funeral procession for Rittmanic will be held on Thursday, according to the Kankakee County Coroner's Office.

The other officer, Tyler Bailey, had a severe head injury and remains in the hospital, according to ABC 7 Chicago.

A man identified as Darius D. Sullivan, 25, is pictured in a photo released by the Kankakee County Sheriff's Office after a deadly shooting occurred at a Comfort Inn in Kankakee County, Ill., on Dec. 29, 2021.
Kankakee County Sheriff

The Kankakee County Sheriff's Office did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment.