During an attempted carjacking in Chicago’s South Loop, a man was wounded in a shootout with five men in hoodies and masks. Minutes earlier, a woman got hit in the head with a gun and had her car stolen blocks away.
Around 4 a.m. on Monday in Chicago’s South Loop, five gunmen in a black Jeep Cherokee and a Chevy Trax followed a 42-year-old man into a parking garage. The gunmen jumped out as the would-be victim pulled his $150,000 sports car into a third-floor parking spot.
The driver of the sports car was a concealed carry holder, and when he engaged the carjackers, he got shot in the leg, and a bullet grazed his head. The five attackers took off in their original cars, and EMS took the concealed carry holder to a local hospital in good condition. Police said they found 17 shell casings, and the crooks did not get the guy’s car.
Police would not confirm the incidents were related, but only a few blocks away and minutes earlier, a black jeep with three men attacked a 48-year-old woman. They hit her in the head with a gun and took her Chrysler 300, along with other items.
Obviously, none of us wants to engage five armed threats simultaneously, and looking for an out should be your first option. I have parked in this garage, and like many in Chicago, there are few places to escape. There is typically a single stairway and elevator on each floor. Of course, if Murphy’s Law has its way, the exit will be in the opposite corner of where you are parked.
While we don’t know the details of what happened once he entered the parking garage, he probably had no good options. Even if he notices the potential threat, he can’t go back because the threat is behind him. Like any parking garage, you can keep going up, but then you just cornered yourself at the top or need to keep twisting around to head back down. Either way, you risk meeting your attackers head-on. This is one occasion where situational awareness can really pay off by looking to see who’s around you BEFORE you pull into the garage. At 4 in the morning, I would have gone around the block if I had seen two cars that looked out of place.
Unfortunately, this is becoming the new normal in many big cities, and you can never be alert enough. Thankfully, the intended victim escaped with his life and only minor injuries.
