Chicago police arrested a 17-year-old girl on charges of aggravated battery over the weekend after she allegedly stabbed a licensed concealed carry holder at a popular beach on the shore of Lake Michigan.
Authorities haven’t said what led up to the altercation, but according to Chicago police the victim was able to stop the attack from going any further when she drew her gun and shot her assailant.
Of course the legacy media characterizes a stabbing and a defensive gun use as just part of a “string of shootings” that have taken place in the area. At least one alderman is doing the same; downplaying the act of self-defense to make it seem like the concealed carry holder did something wrong.
“This is the 4th shooting within a matter of 3 weeks. Enough is enough,” Ald. Lamont Robinson (4th) said in a statement yesterday.
Would Robinson have preferred this shooting didn’t take place, even though the shot that was fired was in self-defense? I guess so. Rather than praise the armed citizen for acting to defend her life, the alderman pointed to the defensive gun use as another reason to implement a curfew at the beach.
The vice chair of the Chicago City Council’s Police and Fire Committee called on the park district to “immediately act to enforce a temporary 9 p.m. closure for the safety of all beach goers and the surrounding community until safety protocols are fully in place.”
Robinson made a similar statement after a 23-year-old man and a 22-year-old woman were shot to death at the beach complex on June 21. Police said that the male victim had been exchanging gunfire with “multiple individuals” at the scene, and they took some men into custody.
“Bag Checks And Traffic Crackdowns At Bronzeville Beach Led To Safer Weekend, Alderman Says” was the headline of a Block Club Chicago story published last Tuesday, four days after Robinson made his initial demand for action.
If Chicago wants to enforce a 9 p.m. curfew at the beach that’s the city’s prerogative, but let’s not pretend that’s going to do anything to stop the violence that has taken place. It might move the criminal activity to another location, but that’s about it.
Maybe it’s time for the city to launch a new public service campaign aimed at folks like the 17-year-old in question, reminding her and others that their intended victim could very well be ready and willing to use deadly force to defend their life. Of course, that would imply that Chicago officials are in favor of concealed carry, and I don’t think they want to give that impression.
Whatever the city’s response turns out to be, ordinary Chicagoans should be taking steps to protect themselves this summer by getting their own carry license. Chicago and the state of Illinois don’t make it particularly easy, but given the sheer number of violent crimes in the Windy City, I’d say it’s worth the time, money, and effort.
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