Chicago police officer Aréanah Preston recalled a year after her murder

CHICAGO (CBS) – Monday marks one year since the Chicago Police Department Officer Areanah Preston was shot during a robbery outside her Avalon Park home.

Her family, friends and colleagues gathered Monday evening to honor her memory. A large crowd gathered at the Calumet (5th) Precinct police station, 727 E. 111th St. in Pullman, where Officer Preston was working.

Preston was killed early Saturday, May 6, during a robbery outside her home in the Avalon Park neighborhood. The 24-year-old had just finished her shift when, according to police, four people tried to rob her just steps from her door.

Following the ceremony, Preston’s family released a balloon – and helped dedicate a garden created in Preston’s honor in front of the police station.

“I know she would be proud of how we continue to keep her name and her memory alive,” said Dionne Mhoon, Officer Preston’s mother. “This is my new mission in life – the search for a better tomorrow.”

Among those in attendance at the ceremony honoring Preston were Preston’s mother and brother Chicago police officer Luis Huesca, who was shot a week ago on Sunday. The officer’s brother, Emiliano Huesca Jr., said the family was there to honor the memory of Officer Preston, Officer Huesca and others Officer Andrés Mauricio Vásquez Lassowho was shot last March while responding to a domestic violence call.

“I just want everyone to know that there are negative views about the police, but these three people – I didn’t know them personally, but I know my brother personally and I knew that my brother always behaved with integrity and always has “When he was in contact with someone, he would always ask, ‘Why are you doing this?’ that people know what these people are, people with a regular life and a regular family.”

Preston was just days away from receiving her master’s degree from Loyola University at the time of the murder.

Jakwon Buchanan, Joseph Brooks, Trevell Breeland and Jaylen Frazier, all face multiple felony charges in the officer’s killing, including first-degree murder, armed robbery, possession of a stolen vehicle and burglary. Frazier is being charged as an adult.