Man Fired On By FBI Wants Safety Assurances Before He Turns Turn Himself In
CHICAGO (CBS) -- There may be a break soon in the case of that wild FBI shooting incident in the Near West Side medical district Monday.
CBS 2 was contacted by a woman who says she was in the car targeted by a federal agent. Our camera was there when she went to FBI headquarters to discuss it. Mike Parker has this Original Report.
The FBI wants to talk with the man seen so far only in a blurred surveillance photo. He was behind the wheel of a car in a Jewel Osco parking lot when, for reasons still unclear, an FBI agent opened fire on the car, slightly wounding the driver and hitting another man inside. The bullet riddled car then collided with another car nearby and the driver escaped on foot.
Now a woman who was in the back seat during the shooting is pleading with the man she calls her "god brother" to surrender.
Alfreda McLaurin says she is "crying out to my brother to turn himself in. He's scared, so I'm coming here to plead for his safety. He wants to turn himself in and be accountable."
McLaurin, some friends and a West Side Pastor say the man on the run wants to be sure he won't be mistreated by authorities. They tried to get those assurances at two Chicago Police stations, only to find out that the FBI has sole jurisdiction in the case. So they went to FBI headquarters in Chicago and talked to special agents handling the case.
Rev. Michael Stinson says they were told that "he will be safe and that they will handle the case with the utmost professionalism."
McLaurin now says, "I honestly believe that he will be able to turn himself in safely.
Stinson suggests the man is afraid because the FBI made a mistake, when the agent fired on his car, believing he was the target of an important FBI sting operation. He says the driver is guilty only of having two stolen hub caps in his vehicle.
