Crime happens everywhere and at any time. 17 million to 20 million of us carry concealed in public every day. We don’t go looking for trouble, but sometimes trouble finds us. This story of armed defense unfolded in Chicago, Illinois, back on the fourth of July in 2021.
A 33-year-old convicted felon was standing on his balcony, shooting his 9mm handgun into the air. It was late at night on the 4th of July, and children were standing in the alley between buildings. Adults asked the felon to stop shooting since there were children nearby. The felon became enraged and went down to the alley. He then shot two adult males who were standing in the alley. A third adult man with his concealed carry permit was standing nearby. This individual was carrying concealed that night. He shot the attacker until the attacker fled back into his apartment. The attacker was hit three times.
That seems complex enough, but now the story becomes more confusing.
The wounded attacker returned to the alley, and this time the original defender was not at the scene. The armed felon shot a woman in the face and killed her as she was tending to one of the wounded victims and tried to get the felon to stop. The armed felon then shot his two wounded victims again. The attacker then fled back into his apartment for a second time.
Police arrived, and EMS declared the woman dead at the scene. Medics took the other wounded individuals to the hospital. Several witnesses identified the felon as the murderer. Police arrested the murderer in his apartment. They did not find his gun. Officers tested the murderer, and his hands showed residue from gunpowder. The police took the defender’s firearm.
The murderer had previous convictions for aggravated robbery and unlawful use of a weapon by a convicted felon. He received at least one prison sentence for ten years.
For this recent attack, he was charged with one count of murder, two counts of attempted murder, and one additional count of aggravated assault with a firearm. I could not find a record of his trial or conviction for his latest attack.
These three victims were a few of the 108 people shot over the 4th of July weekend in Chicago that year.
The obvious conclusion is that good guys stop violent crime when they are present at the scene. The other obvious conclusion is that repeat criminals are often violent and gun-control laws don’t stop them.
This story is one of many that go under-reported by the mainstream media because the story shows a positive image of a law-abiding gun owner defending their life and their family. It is our responsibility at AmmoLand to report these stories to you. While we will continue to report these stories, groups like the Crime Prevention Research Center, led by Dr. John Lott, are fastidious in studying the use of firearms for self-defense. Stay up to date with all news on self-defense by following CPRC and Ammoland.
About Rob Morse
Rob Morse writes about gun rights at Ammoland, at Clash Daily, at Second Call Defense, and on his SlowFacts blog. He hosts the Self Defense Gun Stories Podcast and co-hosts the Polite Society Podcast. Rob was an NRA pistol instructor and combat handgun competitor.