The man who was shot and critically injured in the South Loop on Saturday night is a concealed carry holder who exchanged gunfire with the person who shot him, possibly during a robbery attempt, according to a law enforcement source.
It’s the neighborhood’s second shooting in a week that has robbery as the possible motive. Last Sunday, 44-year-old Jacek Rudnicki was killed in a possible carjacking just a couple blocks from the latest shooting.
Here’s what we have learned about Saturday’s case: The victim, a 30-year-old man with no criminal record, and his fiancée were driving to a nightclub in the area when she pulled over so he could urinate in an alley on the 2200 block of South Michigan around 11:29 p.m., according to an initial CPD report.
While the man was relieving himself, he realized someone was walking up behind him while holding a gun, the report said. The gunman told the victim not to move.
As the victim reached for his own gun, the offender fired two shots, striking him in the chest, the report said. The victim shot back at the offender, who got into a silver sedan and left the area.
The victim then returned to his own car. The report said that his fiancée drove him to Northwestern Memorial Hospital after stopping briefly at a nearby hotel where they initially sought help from an employee.
Police found two handguns belonging to the concealed carry holder in his car, according to the report.
In the February 6 shooting, police responded to 24th Street and Michigan Avenue at 5:05 a.m. after a passerby found Rudnicki lying in the street just west of Michigan. Rudnicki was lying amidst broken auto glass as if he were about to enter a vehicle, but no car was next to him. He suffered two gunshot wounds to his back and was pronounced dead at the scene. Officers found shell casings near his body.
Investigators later confirmed that someone took a white 2015 Mercedes GLA that he was driving. Police were exploring the possibility that he may have been killed in a carjacking, a source said.
