Concealed carry holder shoots 2 suspects during attempted carjacking in the Loop
CHICAGO (CBS) – Two would-be carjackers were in custody Saturday evening after they were shot by a concealed carry holder right in the heart of downtown Chicago overnight.
As CBS 2's Marissa Perlman reported, police said the man who pulled the trigger was the one the two suspects planned to carjack. The would-be victim turned the story around – surprising his own robbers and keeping himself safe.
The Theatre District on Randolph Street was crowded Saturday night. But it was deserted at 3:37 a.m. Saturday when the victim's car was parked right outside the Cambria Hotel at 32 W. Randolph St. – located in the James M. Nederlander Theatre building.
Police said the man was walking toward his own parked car when someone in a red sport-utility vehicle fired shots in his direction.
In those same moments, the would-be victim – who holds a Firearm Owners Identification Card and a concealed carry license – took out his gun and fired several rounds back.
Two suspects, both 22-year-old men, self-transported to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in good condition – with one having a gunshot wound to the left knee and the other with a gunshot wound to the buttocks. Both were placed into custody.
The offending SUV fled the scene. The third suspect - who was in the victim's car - ran away. The victim himself was not hurt.
This marks the third time in one week that armed citizens across the city have interrupted crimes in progress. In another incident this past Monday, a concealed carry holder shot two of three would-be carjackers near Arthington Street and Kilpatrick Avenue on the city's West Side.
"It sounds like the victim took proper measures to stop the threat against him," retired NYPD detective and criminal justice professor Michael Alcazar said of the downtown incident early Saturday.
Alcazar said this is an example of when a concealed carry license can be used to stop a threat in its tracks – as long as the person carrying has proper training.
"Civilians just do not have the experience that law enforcement has with a weapon," Alcazar said. "I firmly believe that you should have mandatory training with your weapon to be comfortable with it, and when you are allowed to use it, and when you shouldn't use it."
This also comes at a time when community organizers and police are working to protect retail theft and overall crime in the Central Business District.
"It is the holidays. It's Christmas. The bad guys know that people are carrying a lot of money. It's target-rich for them," Alcazar said. "Civilians have to be very aware."
The third suspect in the carjacking attempt early Saturday remains at large. Area Three detectives are investigating.