Chicago police officer found dead at home on Friday died by suicide, officials confirm

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A Chicago police officer who was found dead inside his home Friday on the Near South Side died by suicide, officials have determined.

The officer was discovered early in the morning at his residence in the Central District, Chicago police said.

The cause of death was a gunshot wound and the manner of death was suicide, the Cook County medical examiner’s office said Saturday.

"Please keep this officer’s family and friends in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time," the police department said in a statement.

"It’s extremely difficult hearing news like this over and over again," Chicago police officer Michael Carroll said in a Twitter statement after the officer was found. "The pressure of the job is more than regular people know and cops need to be better at letting others know that they need help, need a hand, they need to talk."

this is the second officer to die this month by suicide. On July 2, officer Patricia Swank died by suicide.