Good Guy with a Gun #188: Chicago, IL
A 13-year-old girl was shot in Chicago. By her victim. | Original incident: May 7, 2024
These posts are based on our Good Guy with a Gun calendar. Today’s post is somewhat updated from the calendar version.
There’s been an epidemic of KIA thefts in Chicago. It’s bad enough that one woman decided not to be a victim for a third time — even when being victimized by children.
She caught two young teenagers — a 13-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy — attempting to steal her KIA SUV. (News reports weren’t calling it a carjacking, so it sounds like basic theft.)
The woman was carrying legally and had a Firearms Owner’s Identification (FOID) card; she worked as a security guard and had her own business. She opened fire on the teens — according to her sister, it was in self-defense.
(That seems right: I’ve looked pretty hard, and I see no indication that she was charged, and prosecutors can be quick to charge you if you shoot someone while “only” defending property.)
The girl was hit in the right shoulder and hospitalized in stable condition. She and the boy faced a felony count of attempted possession of a stolen vehicle and one misdemeanor count of criminal property damage.
The woman’s sister described her as a scared mom, but as a legally carrying citizen — even in Chicago, which makes it harder for her — she will never be an easy victim.
Sources
There are a lot of sources talking about the 13-year-old getting shot: the Chicago Tribune, WGN 9, Fox 32, ABC 7, the Chicago Sun-Times.
There are a lot fewer that talk about the fact that she and her 14-year-old partner were stealing cars and got charged. Tara Molina at CBS News Chicago had the interview with the shooter’s sister that gives us so much more detail than we’d otherwise have. She also did a follow-up when the children were charged. Here’s the interview.
Caroline Kubzansky at the Chicago Tribune also provided a follow-up article about the charges. ABC 7 did as well.
Specialist media
The 2A community was all over this: Sean Holt at USACarry, John Boch at The Truth About Guns, and Brandon Curtis at Concealed Nation at a minimum. (Boch called it a carjacking; I’m not sure that’s true.)
Aggregator Hoodline did an initial report and a follow-up.
And then there’s those dudes chillin’ at Smoke Tales on YouTube. Here’s their take.