Chicago police arrest suspect in killing of retired police officer Larry Neuman – NBC Chicago

A suspect is in police custody in connection with the shooting of Larry Neuman, a 73-year-old retired Chicago police officer, authorities said late Sunday.

At 9:15 p.m., a Chicago police spokesperson confirmed that a person was in custody and the investigation was ongoing. Footage from an NBC Chicago photographer from earlier in the evening shows the person arriving in a black vehicle and then being taken into custody by police officers.

A day earlier, Chicago police released surveillance video of two suspects wanted in connection with Neuman’s murder. As of Sunday evening, it was still unclear whether the person arrested was one of the people seen in the video.

Neuman was fatally shot shortly after 11:30 a.m. Thursday near his home in the 4300 block of West Monroe Street in the West Garfield Park neighborhood.

Dozens of people marched down West Monroe Street on Sunday in his procession, which Neuman led. The procession began at St. Michael Missionary Baptist Church, where he served as pastor, and ended in front of his home.

“He spent his entire career protecting our city and his retirement as a pastor speaking out against the violent crime that plagues our neighborhoods,” Superintendent Larry Snelling said Thursday during the Chicago Police Board meeting at police headquarters. “Please keep his family in mind.”

Neuman, the city’s longest-serving bomb technician, retired in 2010. He worked for the police department for 28 years.

Neuman, a transportation explosives specialist, joined the TSA in 2010 and worked at O’Hare and Midway airports, an agency spokesman said. In his current position, Neuman trained screening personnel at both airports to detect explosives and other potential threats.

Larry Neuman, a retired Chicago police officer and bomb technician, was shot and killed in the West Garfield Park neighborhood Thursday morning, NBC Chicago’s Courtney Sisk reports.

“We are deeply saddened by his death and extend our sincere condolences to his family, friends and colleagues,” the spokesman said.

According to Pastor Paul Sims of St. Michael Missionary Baptist Church, Neuman was a “pillar” of his beloved West Garfield Park congregation. Neuman was a member of the church for 30 years.

“He was the nicest person you knew. There was nothing Larry Neuman wouldn’t do for someone. If you needed something and he didn’t have it, he would get it for you.”

Neuman was an ordained minister and was part of the church’s clergy, Sims said. Neuman enjoyed sharing his wisdom with young people and never hesitated to offer advice.

“He would stop and talk to anybody,” Sims said. “He encouraged you, no matter what you were doing in life, no matter what it was, he would stop and talk to somebody.”

Neuman was a Marine veteran who had served in the Vietnam War, Sims said.

“He was a family man, he was a grandfather, he loved his grandchildren, he loved helping me at church with the young people,” Sims said. “He was a great man, he was a great human being.”