A 21-year-old Chicago man may have saved lives on Tuesday night when he fired back at shooters allegedly attacking his grandmother’s birthday party.
The man did not want to be identified and told WGN-TV he was at a birthday party for his grandmother at home on the city’s Lower West Side.
A few of the relatives reportedly went to the back of the house to look at a new car belonging to another family’s cousin.
After doing so, they started hearing sounds that they assumed were firecrackers. When the man looked at his cousin’s face, he realized it was more serious.
“I see my cousin’s face turn weird, and I look to the right and see two gunmen at the end of the alley,” he told WGN.
The next thing the man knew, bullets were flying past him.
“We start hearing [whizzing sound], and then the light post starting making all these weird noises, so we’re like, ‘oh, this is serious,’” the man said.
The good news was that the young man had a concealed carry license and his weapon on him at the time.
“I started shooting,” he said. “I stood my ground. I didn’t even move. I stood my ground to defend my family.”
The man said the attackers ran away after he returned fire, but not before they had wounded his 13-year-old cousin. He said he saw his cousin lying in a pool of blood with a bullet wound in his right temple.
“When he got shot, he was still breathing,” the man said. “He got shot twice in the head and was still breathing.”
WGN reported the boy was immediately taken to Stroger Hospital and was in critical condition when he arrived. However, the 21-year-old man said he received a call from the victim’s brother on Wednesday night.
“[The 13-year-old] opened his eyes, and he has a little movement, so he’s doing good, and thank God I had faith,” the man said. “I just want him to get better.”
If this man had never returned fire with his legally-owned weapon, there is no telling how many of his family members could have been wounded or even killed. Thanks to his heroic actions, it looks like everyone there at the time will survive.
This story proves the Second Amendment’s importance, especially in leftist-run cities like Chicago.
Chicago’s Killings decreased 16 percent in August to 66 victims, from a record high a year ago, when 80 were killed. The number of people shot decreased 19.5 percent, from 475 in August 2021 to 384 this year, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
Still, overall, crime rose in every police district in the city. The surge was led by crimes including battery, sexual assault, burglary, and theft.
In addition, the two police districts in downtown Chicago have experienced a further increase in shootings and homicides from last year. These districts have seen 72 shootings and 18 homicides this year. At the same time last year, they had seen 56 shootings and nine homicides.
Crime is still running rampant in Chicago, and radical Democrat Mayor Lori Lightfoot has yet to take meaningful action to address it. This is all the more reason Americans must be allowed to protect themselves as the writers of the Second Amendment intended.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.