CHICAGO, ILLINOIS — On Tuesday August 16th around 6:45pm at a BP Gas station in north Chicago, a 34-year-old woman had stopped to refuel her Volvo, not expecting anything out of the ordinary.
As she exited her vehicle to begin to gas up at the pump, she left her driver door open. An unknown and unidentified car thief then took advantage of the opportunity. According to reports, the thief hopped in the woman’s driver seat, and fled in the vehicle northbound.
It’s unclear if the woman attempted to confront or prevent the car thief from getting away with her car, but according to police she received a minor cut on her left knee as the thief hit her with the driver side door of the vehicle while fleeing the scene. She declined medical attention for her minor injury.
During the commotion, a security guard from within the convenience store of the gas station reportedly pulled his gun out and shot at the thief as he was driving away. The security guard had an Illinois FOID and was lawfully entitled to possess a firearm, but it is unclear if he was a concealed carrier.
No one was taken into custody, a weapon was recovered on the scene, and the victim’s vehicle was eventually recovered in a nearby Chicago neighborhood to the scene of the crime.
Shooting at a fleeing car thief isn’t the best option, as it puts other lives in danger and can land the person behind the gun in very hot water. Generally speaking, if a life isn’t in danger and a suspect is fleeing, bullets should not be slung in their direction.
