Two men are charged with the murder of off-duty CPD Officer John Rivera and the attempted murder of three of his friends, including another officer. It’s an incident that Superintendent Eddie Johnson is calling a senseless hate crime.

As Chicago is mourning the loss of another off-duty police officer, friends and family of 23-year-old John Rivera are trying to cope with what happened.

Jennifer Navarro and Aliyah Love, both friends of Rivera, invite the community to a vigil they’re hosting Wednesday at Ping Tom Memorial Park in Chinatown at 6 p.m.

Vincent Casillas is the cousin of the other man shot in the vehicle. He says his cousin is home recovering, but can’t believe his best friend is dead.

Casillas’ cousin explains Rivera protected his girlfriend when the offender shot his weapon.

CPD investigators are looking to press hate crime charges, as they continue to look for the third offender.