Chicago Concealed Carrier Opens Fire During Two-On-One Confrontation – Bearing Arms

Violent crime may not be as prevalent in Chicago as it was just a few years ago, but there are still plenty of predators roaming the streets looking for their next target. Between January and August of this year more than 3,000 robberies have been reported, and the number of robberies each month has actually been trending higher throughout 2026. 

One attempted robbery this past weekend, though, didn’t come off as the perps had planned. Instead of preying on a defenseless victim, two men picked someone who had the means to protect himself. 

According to Chicago police, the 23-year-old man was walking in the 3100 block of West Cermak at approximately 10:25 a.m. when he was approached by two individuals.

A physical altercation then unfolded, and the 23-year-old, who has a valid CCL and a FOID card, pulled out a weapon and fired shots, striking one of the alleged assailants.

That suspect was taken to an area hospital, where they were listed in critical condition according to police.

NBC Chicago reported that Chicago police were speaking to a “person of interest” in the hours after the robbery attempt, but so far there’s been no news of any arrests in connection with the crime. 

The legally armed citizen also doesn’t appear to be facing any charges at this time, which is to be expected if things went down the way he told police. 

Outside of that brief report by NBC Chicago and a small write-up in the Chicago Sun-Times, there hasn’t been much media coverage of the defensive gun use, so there are still some unanswered questions about the circumstances of the shooting, including exactly what happened during the physical altercation and whether either of the alleged robbers was armed. Being outnumbered 2-1 doesn’t automatically justify the use of deadly force, but it can certainly be a factor in determining whether someone reasonably feared for their life or believed they were in danger of suffering great bodily harm.

We’ll hopefully learn more about what happened in the Little Village neighborhood in the days ahead, but one thing is already clear: the 23-year-old wasn’t required to leave his safety in the hands of the Chicago Police Department.

That wasn’t always the case. Until the Seventh Circuit struck down Illinois’s prohibition on carrying firearms in public in 2012, ordinary Chicago residents had no legal way to carry a handgun for self-defense outside their homes. Even after the state adopted a shall-issue concealed carry law rather than appeal that decision to the Supreme Court, gun control advocates continued to insist that putting more legally owned firearms on the streets would only make Chicago a more dangerous place.

More than a decade later, concealed carry license holders haven’t turned the Windy City into the Wild West or made Chicago a more dangerous place. Instead, they’ve given countless Chicagoans the ability to protect themselves against violent criminals who were never particularly concerned about obeying the city’s gun laws in the first place… at least if those crimes aren’t taking place in “gun-free zones” like the city’s public transportation network. 

Folks who depend on buses and trains to get around should be able to protect themselves just like this pedestrian, but the Supreme Court has let another Seventh Circuit decision upholding the public transportation carry ban stand. That prohibition definitely makes it harder for peaceable gun owners to defend themselves, but clearly there are still some folks legally bearing arms on the mean streets of Chicago. 

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