When a group of armed robbers attempted to break into her car, a female concealed carrier fought back, hitting one of the suspects and sending the rest fleeing. However, police have since made an announcement concerning the woman’s method of defense.
A group of four or five males of varying ages was trying to break into a parked car on the 1100 block of East 52nd Street in Hyde Park in Chicago. The owner, an unidentified 34-year-old woman, confronted the thieves before they managed to get into the vehicle, WBBM reports.
Despite being caught, they didn’t plan on leaving empty-handed. Police say one of the suspects pulled out a firearm and pointed it at the woman to convince her to back down so they could get away with their prize. Unfortunately for them, she wasn’t as defenseless as they thought.
As it turns out, the woman has a concealed carry license and is well-trained to use it. Without hesitation, the victim pulled out her firearm and aimed directly at the thieves. She fired at the fleeing criminals, hitting one. Unfortunately, the others managed to get away and no weapon was recovered at the scene.
Police say that the wounded suspect was a 13-year-old boy. He was reportedly struck by a round in the neck and was rushed to the University of Chicago’s Comer Children’s Hospital. He was treated and is in fair condition. No one else was reported as injured in the incident.
While the incident was still under investigation, authorities quickly made a statement regarding civilians attempting to defend themselves in the event of an armed robbery. Chicago Transit Authority vice president of security Kevin Ryan says that the police are warning citizens not to try to defend themselves but to “be compliant.”
“What the Chicago police will tell you to do — do not fight back. Be compliant. Do not put yourself in harm’s way further,” Ryan said.
The announcement comes after reports of victims in Chicago beginning to fight back, according to The Blaze. Days earlier, a robbery victim stabbed to death a 15-year-old male aboard a Red Line train. A group of seven people surrounded the man as one of the individuals, the now-deceased suspect, pulled out a gun and demanded the victim’s possessions. The man grabbed his own knife and immediately stabbed the teen, who fled the scene with his accomplices and later died at a hospital.
Another incident involved six people armed with weapons who tried to rob a train passenger. As in the other case, the 42-year-old victim pulled out a small knife and fought off his attackers, stabbing several of them. Three suspects fled the train as a fourth entered and began attacking the victim. The victim then stabbed the fourth attacker in the neck while the attacker stabbed the victim in the collarbone.
The six suspects began chasing the victim through the train, hitting him with a glass bottle and other projectiles. Three of the suspects were hospitalized. The victim was also hospitalized with critical wounds.
Victims are starting to fight back against their attackers, but the police aren’t in favor of it. Instead, they want citizens to simply comply with the criminals. Of course, while it may be wise to comply in certain situations, there is a precaution that greatly reduces the chance that a person will be completely at the mercy of their attacker.
As the 34-year-old woman proved, concealed carrying can turn a helpless victim into a confident defender. There’s no telling what the suspects would have done to her if she hadn’t been able to properly defend herself, and authorities should be encouraging civilians to get armed and trained.
