
A Chicago mother shot a man trying to enter her daughter’s bedroom through the window. The daughter was in the shower at the time and saw a man’s hand coming through a curtain over her bedroom window and screamed. Her mom heard the scream and ran to her daughter’s aid before grabbing her handgun – for which she has a concealed carry permit – and shot the intruder in the leg. The women then called the police, who arrived to find the would-be burglar with a bullet wound to the thigh.
The incident happened just before 11 pm on the Windy City’s South Shore. The heroic mom did not want to be named but told reporters that she acted instinctively. “I just went into action,” she said before describing the moment she entered her daughter’s room and found a man outside her window. She told him to stop, or she would shoot him, and then she did. “I didn’t even know he was hit ’til the police came,” she explained. The mother of three confessed that she was “super shaken up” and that the incident felt like one of her worst nightmares come true.
In Chicago, residents are permitted to carry concealed weapons and obtain a permit if they are at least 21 years old and have concluded state-approved firearms training. Additionally, the gun owner must be a legal resident of Illinois, be able to read and understand English, have a valid Illinois driver’s permit, have possession of a firearm owner’s identification (FOID), have the physical capacity to operate a firearm safely, and have no legal restrictions on gun ownership.
Illinois law permits individuals to use lethal force to defend themselves or another person if they are under imminent threat. Force, including deadly force, is also allowed against a person who attempts unlawful entry to a private residence. There is no duty to retreat in the Prairie State if the incident occurs inside a person’s home, meaning homeowners are not obliged to flee the situation safely rather than employ force.