CHICAGO, ILLINOIS — On Sunday morning, a confrontation involving gunfire took place on the South Side of the city after Liborio Torres and his son attempted to retrieve their stolen vehicle. The car, belonging to Torres’ son, was taken from the 5500 block of South Kostner Avenue. Although they reported the theft to the police and were advised not to pursue the vehicle, the father and son, equipped with a tracker in the car, tracked it down.
They located the car in a parking lot on the 100 block of West 87th Street, occupied by three individuals. Upon seeing Torres and his son, the occupants of the stolen car began shooting at them. Torres, a concealed carry license holder, and his son fired back.
The Chicago Police reported that the stolen vehicle fled the scene, eventually crashing into a storefront near West 87th Street and South Lafayette Avenue. The three suspects then escaped on foot. A 23-year-old man, allegedly involved and wounded in the shootout, later admitted himself to a hospital with serious injuries to his neck and shoulder. Additionally, a juvenile, also believed to be in the stolen car, was apprehended while trying to escape and was hospitalized for crash-related injuries.
At the crash site, police recovered three weapons. No other injuries were reported, and the police are conducting an ongoing investigation into the incident.
The father and son took a huge risk when chasing and confronting the suspects, luckily not being shot in the process. They did, however, leave with 2 suspects arrested. And a busted up vehicle.
Going after your stolen property can have deadly consequences for anyone involved, and while some states allow you to use lethal force in the defense of property, my thoughts have always been to stay back and let police handle the stolen vehicle issue. It’s not worth my life to track down potentially dangerous suspects in an attempt to retrieve something that’s insured.
