They arrested a man Sunday night for firing a gun in the air during pro-Palestine and pro-Israel rallies that were being held in the same area. Prosecutors said Monday they would not be filing charges against him.
A man with a concealed carry license (CCL) fired a shot into the air Sunday evening in a suburb north of Chicago during a confrontation with pro-Palestinian protestors.
In the video, the 39-year-old male driver exits his car and starts chasing a woman who tried to pull an Israeli flag off his passenger side door. People in the crowd for the pro-Palestinian rally go after the man. A melee begins, and while multiple people are on top of the guy, he pulls out a gun and fires a shot into the air.
People ran away, and immediately, armed police surrounded him. He put his gun on the ground and his hands in the air. The police put him in handcuffs and quickly took him away.
Yesterday, the Cook County State’s Attorney said, “After reviewing the evidence, which includes surveillance video and witness statements, we have determined the individual … acted in self-defense upon being surrounded by a crowd and attacked by some of those individuals.”
Lincolnwood police said, “This Sunday evening, a support Israel event took place in the 3400 block of Touhy Avenue in Skokie. Approximately 200 protesters showed up in support of the Palestinian population in the Middle East. The Skokie Police Department initially took preventative measures by having a Law Enforcement mutual aid plan on standby prior to the event occurring. Due to several disturbances escalating outside the event, additional police resources were called to respond to the area to help control the crowd and maintain order.
During the gathering, a subject was confronted by numerous individuals in the Lincolnwood Town Center mall across the street from the event, at which time the subject pulled a firearm and discharged the weapon in the air. No injuries occurred, and the subject was immediately taken into custody by Lincolnwood Police.
Lincolnwood Police presented the case to the Felony Review Unit of the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office for prosecution. After reviewing the case, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office declined to prosecute the subject. The 39-year-old male subject resides in Chicago and is a valid concealed carry license (CCL) holder.” The subject has been released from police custody. The subject’s name is being withheld due to no criminal charges being filed in this incident.”
Here is a video of the shooting from a second angle.
I have not seen a single outlet describe what happened correctly. Some outlets called the guy an “Israeli terrorist,” and others said a “crazed Zionist attempts to shoot up protesters.”
One local “organization” said, “He pulled his firearm and began firing shots in the direction of a pro-Palestine rally.”
This could have gone a few different ways for the concealed carry holder. Although he ended up on the ground while people attacked him, many states say you cannot use deadly force to protect yourself if you were the “initial” aggressor.
Could a different prosecutor have decided he was the initial aggressor since he got out of his car and chased the lady? Fortunately for him, this prosecutor considered his actions self-defense.