A 58-year-old man told police he opened fire after spotting two people breaking into his parked car early Monday on Chicago’s South Side, wounding a 17-year-old in the process.
The shooting happened around 3:42 a.m. in the West Chesterfield neighborhood, on the 9400 block of South Indiana Avenue. According to police, the man heard his car alarm blaring, went outside, and found the driver’s window smashed. A 17-year-old was hit in the right forearm and the left knee and was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was listed in fair condition.
Chicago police told CBS News Chicago that the 58-year-old reported one of the people inside the vehicle pulled a firearm. The man, who holds a valid Firearm Owner’s Identification card and a concealed-carry license, then discharged his own weapon. Police said the second suspect ran east on foot, then got into a gray minivan and took off. No other injuries were reported. Calumet Area detectives are investigating.
What Illinois law allows
Under Illinois law, force can be used to stop an imminent unlawful attack, but deadly force is permitted only to prevent death, great bodily harm, or the commission of a forcible felony, according to 720 ILCS 5/7-1 from the Illinois General Assembly. The criminal code also allows force to defend personal property in limited situations involving a forcible felony, as outlined by the Illinois General Assembly.
The Illinois State Police outlines FOID and Concealed Carry licensing rules and notes that holding those credentials does not prevent investigators from reviewing whether any use of force was legally justified, see the ISP guidance on FOID/CCL.
Where does this fit in Chicago's recent pattern
Local reporting has highlighted several recent cases in which legally armed residents opened fire during vehicle thefts or attempted carjackings. In one such incident, a FOID and concealed-carry holder shot and wounded a teen during an attempted carjacking in Auburn Gresham, according to CBS News Chicago.
Episodes like that case, and this latest shooting in West Chesterfield, are exactly the kinds of situations detectives and prosecutors scrutinize closely as they sort out when defensive gun use crosses the line under Illinois law.
