Veteran Illinois Officer Shot During Active Shooter Incident Retires

An officer with the Aurora (IL) Police Department who was one of five officers wounded while responding to an active shooter in February of last year has retired after serving more than a quarter century in law enforcement.

According to CBS News , Officer James Zegar and four other officers were wounded when they responded to a mass shooting in Aurora last year.

The gunman had killed five colleagues at the Henry Pratt Company plant before Zegar and other officers responded.

Upon entering the building Zegar was shot in the neck. Even after being struck, Zegar re-entered the building to engage the gunman.

"He believed he only had moments to live, so he insisted on going back in the building to find the shooter," Aurora Police Chief Kristen Ziman said in a Facebook post.

During his retirement ceremony Zegar received a standing ovation.

He had served with the department for 26 years.