Even if you don’t live near Chicago, you probably heard about the shooting at the city’s Mercy Hospital on Monday. Four people died, including the gunman, and one of the dead is a hero Chicago cop.

However, if you don’t follow Chicago news, you probably don’t know the hero’s name. But you should.

The hero Chicago cop was Samuel Jimenez, and he was a 28-year-old father of three. On top of that, he and his wife were going to celebrate their anniversary next month.

Now there will be no anniversary celebration. Instead Jimenez’s wife will mourn her lost husband, and his children will never know another Thanksgiving or Christmas with their father.

Officer Jimenez and his wife. Credit: chicago.suntimes.com.

His career was brief, having been a member of the Chicago Police Department for less than two years. But Samuel Jimenez left an impression upon his colleagues.

A police sergeant said that Jimenez was “on top of his game” and “was always in control.” And one of Jimenez’s instructors remembered him as “the kind of police we want.” Moreover, his district commander wanted to add him to a tactical team after Jimenez had gained a little more experience.

The people in his neighborhood loved him, too:

What made Officer Samuel Jimenez a hero Chicago cop on Monday? It’s because he and other police officers ran to the sound of gunshots.

As Chicago police Superintendent Eddie Johnson told reporters:

“When they pulled up, they heard the gunshots, and they did what heroic officers always do — they ran toward that gunfire. So they weren’t assigned to that particular call, but they went because that’s what we do.”

Over at Second City Cop, a blog written by an anonymous Chicago police officer, you can read a tribute to Officer Jimenez. It reads, in part:

“. . . this kid, this young and (I’m guessing here) idealistic kid, upheld the finest traditions of police work. He ran to gunfire. He wasn’t ambushed like so many of our brethren recently, he ran toward danger. People were in danger and he went where he was supposed to go…….and it killed him.” 

“What do you even say to that? What words can even measure up to that sense of duty, that willingness to sacrifice it all, that feeling that somewhere, someone is in trouble and G_ddamnit, I’m going there to sort it out somehow, even at the cost of everything.”

So on Thursday, as you celebrate Thanksgiving, say a prayer or two for the family of Officer Samuel Jimenez. They’ll need prayers for comfort this holiday season and beyond. And then give thanks to God that such men live to serve and protect our communities.

Credit: Daniel Schwen at commons.wikimedia.