Armed Citizen Stops
Assault on Chicago Lakefront

We don't want a fight, but that isn't always up to us. We can try and de-escalate the confrontation. We can try and walk away. Sometimes we don't have those options. Sometimes those options don't work. A licensed concealed carrier had to defend herself last week. Let's look at what we know, what we don't know, and what we can learn.

A seventeen-year-old woman was arguing with a 26-year-old woman. The 26-year-old had her Illinois Firearms Owners Identification Card. She also had her Illinois Concealed Carry License. She was armed that night.

The argument escalated a half hour before midnight. The younger woman stabbed the 26-year-old in her right arm. The victim then presented her firearm and shot her attacker one time. The attacker stopped. The victim was taken to the hospital. The attacker was arrested two hours later. She was taken to the hospital to treat a gunshot wound in her left shoulder. The attacker was charged with felony aggravated assault.

That is the story but it leaves a lot of unknowns. You're not allowed to drink when you're carrying a concealed firearm in public in Illinois. That tells me the victim was probably sober. In contrast, most assaults are committed when the attacker is intoxicated. People who are drunk or high are unpredictable. We want to avoid them. .....