Crime & Safety
Off-Duty Chicago Firefighter Shoots, Kills Accused Teen Car Thief
The Chicago Fire Department lieutenant opened fire Monday after the 17-year-old allegedly tried to run down the firefighter.
CHICAGO, IL — An off-duty firefighter shot and killed a boy, 17, Monday morning after the teen allegedly attempted to steal the Chicago Fire Department lieutenant's car on the West Side, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. According to police, the firefighter, 45, opened fire when the teen drove toward him in the lieutenant's own vehicle, hitting the boy in the chest, the report added. The lieutenant was hospitalized for observation, but fire department officials told the Sun-Times he was unharmed.
The shooting happened around 9:30 a.m. Monday, Aug. 21, in the 1400 block of North Lockwood Avenue in the Austin neighborhood when the teen allegedly tried to drive off with the firefighter's vehicle, the report stated. The lieutenant, who has a Firearm Owners ID and a concealed carry license, fired shots at the victim, hitting him in the chest, the report added.
The victim was taken to Oak Park's West Suburban Medical Center, and he later was pronounced dead at the hospital, the report stated. Police continue to investigate the shooting. (Get Patch real-time email alerts for the latest news for the West Side and Chicago — or other neighborhoods. And iPhone users: Check out Patch's new app.)
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RELATED: Off-Duty Chicago Cop Who Shot Teen In Arm Stripped Of Police Powers
Monday morning's incident is the second time in about a week that a teenager was shot by a civil servant who was off the clock. On Aug. 13, an 18-year-old mentally disabled man was shot and wounded in the arm by an off-duty Chicago police sergeant in the Morgan Park neighborhood on the Far South Side. Police Supt. Eddie Johnson stripped the officer of his police powers indefinitely while the case is being investigated by the Independent Police Review Authority, which recommended the move.
Find out what's happening in West Sidefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
RELATED: Chicago Cop Shoots Armed Man, Grazing His Neck: Police
Over the weekend, a man accused of carrying a handgun was grazed when an on-duty Chicago police officer opened fire during "an armed confrontation" between the victim and police in the Gage Park neighborhood on the Southwest Side.
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