An armed robber in Chicago, just 17 years old, tried holding up a restaurant in the city’s Belmont Cragiin neighborhood on the night of Monday, January 22. But, fortunately for the restaurant and its patrons, one of the diners was a man with a concealed carry pistol who was able to stop the robbery by opening fire on the suspect.
According to local media, the incident began when the armed teen strode into the restaurant, a Taco Burrito King, and, after brandishing his firearm, demanded the contents of the business’s cash register. The clerk complied with the armed robber’s demands, but the armed citizen saw what was going on and jumped into action.
As the gun-toting teen took the cash from the clerk, the individual with a valid concealed carry license drew his own weapon and opened fire on the alleged armed robber. The armed citizen’s gunfire apparently missed the teen, but that was still enough to send him on his way, and he fled the scene of the robbery and shooting in a black sport-utility vehicle.
However, that getaway soon came to a crashing end, as the teen wrecked the SUB just half a mile away. The teen then got out of the crashed vehicle and attempted to flee on foot, but that attempted getaway proved unsuccessful and the officers were able to catch the suspect and recover a firearm, believed to be the one used in the alleged armed robbery.
After being caught by the police, the suspected armed robber was taken to the local Community First Hospital, where he was treated for a graze wound. However, while the police initially said that the wound came from the robbery, they later clarified that the graze wound did not occur during the Taco Burrito King incident. They did not, however, clarify from where the graze wound came.
Other than the teen, no one else was injured during the attempted robbery. It has not yet been announced whether the individual who used his concealed carry pistol to stop the robbery attempt will face any charges over the matter.
Watch the report on the incident here:
Though known for strict gun control laws, Illinois does allow concealed carry permits. Since 2013, concealed carry in the state has been regulated by the Firearm Concealed Carry Act, which gives those individuals who want to carry in public an avenue for getting a license to do so. A license is not needed for carrying on one’s property, such as a home or fixed place of business, nor is a license needed to carry in the home or on the land of another individual so long as that individual gives permission.
Otherwise, a license is needed. The Department of State Police is required to issue such a permit to one who is at least 21 and, among other criteria, has and meets the requirements for a valid Firearm Owner’s ID Card, is not a convicted felon or convicted of a violent misdemeanor, hasn’t been convicted of two or more DUIs, isn’t a drug or alcohol abuser who needed treatment in the past five years, and has completed firearm training.