This photo provided by the Chicago Police Department shows Edward Brown, 24. Brown is facing two felony weapons charges in connection with the deaths of two Chicago police officers who were struck and killed by a commuter train while they were chasing him. Chicago police said Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2018, that Brown is charged with reckless discharge of a firearm-endangerment and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon-loaded. He's due in bond court Thursday. (Chicago Police Department via AP)
CHICAGO – The Latest on a man facing charges in connection with the deaths of two Chicago police officers struck by a train (all times local):
2:55 p.m.
The attorney for the gunman police were searching for when two Chicago officers were struck and killed by a train says he happened upon a fanny pack containing a gun and ammunition accidentally.
Attorney Frank Kostouros told a judge at Edward Brown's bond hearing Thursday that his client wasn't out looking for a gun but saw the fanny pack and "curiosity got the best of him."
Authorities say Officers Conrad Gary and Eduardo Marmolejo were looking for a person responsible for gunshots near the train tracks on the city's far South Side when they were struck and killed by a suburban commuter train Monday evening.
Kostouros says Brown went to the tracks to fire the gun as a safety precaution. He says Brown "thought he was doing something safe."
Brown, a 24-year-old Chicago resident with no criminal record, was ordered held on $200,000 bond.
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2:20 p.m.
The man police were searching for when two Chicago officers were struck and killed by a train has been ordered held on $200,000 bond.
Edward Brown appeared in bond court Thursday on charges of reckless discharge of a firearm and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon.
During the hearing, Assistant State's Attorney Guy Lisuzzo said Brown was coming home from work and had gotten off a train when he went into an alley and found a fanny pack. Lisuzzo says Brown looked inside, saw a gun and ammunition, and took it home. He later went to the tracks to shoot the gun, firing it twice — once in the air and once at a school building that was not in session.
Police later located the owner of the gun, who told them that he dropped his fanny pack while taking out the garbage.
If Brown is convicted, he faces a possible prison term of one to three years.
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12:03 p.m.
The man police were searching for when two Chicago officers were struck and killed by a train says he didn't know police were looking for him following reports of gunfire.
Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said Thursday that Edward Brown told detectives he'd found a gun and had taken it to a remote area near the train tracks to see if it worked Monday evening.
Guglielmi says detectives believe Brown, who was stopped minutes later by other officers near a train station on the city's South Side.
The officers killed were Conrad Gary and Eduardo Marmolejo. Investigators say the officers likely didn't see or hear the train that hit them because of a another train traveling toward them from a different direction.
Brown is scheduled to appear in court Thursday on charges of reckless discharge of a firearm and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon.
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