Chicago Police Officer Enrique Martinez, 26. (Credit: Chicago Police Department)

A 23-year-old man has been charged with murder in the fatal shooting of a Chicago police officer who was killed following a traffic stop Monday night in the East Chatham neighborhood, authorities said Wednesday.

Darion McMillian, of Harvey, faces felony counts of first-degree murder of a police officer, attempted murder of a police officer, burglary, possession of a machine gun and possession of a gun as a felon, according to Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling.

McMillian has been charged with the murder of Officer Enrique Martinez, 26, Snelling announced during a news conference alongside Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson.

Describing Martinez’s death as a “devastating tragedy,” Foxx said McMillian is scheduled to appear in court Thursday.

Johnson said Chicago has had enough of “senseless killings,” and asked residents to pray for Martinez’s family.

McMillian, who is a convicted felon, shot and killed Martinez and another passenger in the car after being released on electronic monitoring by a Will County judge, Snelling said.

“This individual should not have been on our streets with a fully automatic weapon,” Snelling said. 

The handgun used by McMillian to kill Martinez had been converted into an illegal machine gun, Snelling said.

City officials have sued Glock to stop it from selling modified handguns to Chicagoans. Switches are the size of a quarter and can be purchased online for around $20 or manufactured at home using a 3D printer. Once installed, the switch allows pistols to fire up to 1,200 rounds per minute — a rate as fast as or faster than many fully automatic firearms and machine guns used by the United States military, according to a statement from the mayor’s office.

The barrage of gunfire made it impossible for Martinez to survive the shooting, Snelling said, calling for new efforts to stop the proliferation of illegal guns on Chicago’s streets.

“We have to get a handle on these guns,” Snelling said.

Before the shooting, McMillian had been charged with a felony for possessing cannabis and for trying to foil a required drug test, said Chief of Detectives Antoinette Ursitti. He was released on electronic monitoring, Ursitti said. 

McMillian previously pleaded guilty to a felony charge of shooting into a vehicle and to a battery that occurred while he was in jail, according to court records first reported by the Sun-Times.

Martinez was a “hero” who was trying to protect the residents of the city of Chicago, Snelling said.

“We should be outraged,” Snelling said. 

Martinez was shot multiple times just before 8 p.m. Monday in the 8000 block of South Ingleside Avenue in Chatham, shortly after he approached a vehicle that was blocking traffic while it was stopped, Snelling said.

McMillian was in the front passenger seat of the car when Martinez approached the driver’s window, Snelling said. When McMillian reached underneath his seat, Martinez ordered him to stop, Snelling said.

McMillian brandished a fully automatic handgun with an extended magazine and opened fire, killing the driver of the car, who has not yet been identified, and fatally wounding Martinez, Snelling said.

McMillian then pushed the driver out of the car and tried to drive away, dragging an officer for a short distance, Snelling said. That officer, who discharged his weapon into the ground, was not seriously injured, Snelling added.

The car being driven by McMillian crashed into a parked car, prompting McMillian to flee into a nearby apartment, which was occupied by a woman. McMillian used a kitchen knife to remove his electronic monitoring bracelet and fled again, without harming the woman, Snelling said.

McMillian was apprehended within 10 minutes, Ursitti said.

The third person in the car was not involved in the shooting and has not been charged, Ursitti said.

Contact Heather Cherone: @HeatherCherone | (773) 569-1863 | [email protected]