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Illinois trooper killed in line of duty remembered at church

Posted August 25, 2019 7:00 am

The Associated Press

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. (AP) - An Illinois state trooper who was fatally shot while serving a search warrant is being remembered as a caring family man who went the extra mile.

The (Belleville) News-Democrat reports roughly 100 people attended a Sunday service at a park to remember Trooper Nicholas Hopkins. He was shot Friday in East St. Louis during an exchange of gunfire while serving the warrant. He later died.

The 33-year-old trooper was a state police officer for 10 years. He was married with three children. In a recorded message for the congregation, Hopkins' wife, Whitney, said she couldn't put into words "how big his heart was."

The St. Clair County state's attorney announced charges in the death on Saturday against 45-year-old Chris Grant. He's in custody at St. Clair County Jail on $5 million bond.

A police officer in tactical gear stands positioned near an Illinois State Police S.W.A.T. vehicle outside a building on 42nd Street near Van Buren Avenue, on Friday, Aug 23, 2019, in East St. Louis, Ill., after a state trooper was shot while serving a warrant at the address. Illinois State Police Acting Director Brendan Kelly says 33-year-old Trooper Nicholas Hopkins, a 10-year veteran, died from gunshot wounds in St. Louis University Hospital. (Christian Gooden/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP) The Associated Press

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