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During a carjacking, the husband of an Illinois Democratic state legislator shot a legal gun at the perpetrators
Shots were fired, but police didn't know who fired them at first.
According to various sources, the spouse of a high-ranking Democratic Illinois politician who was carjacked this week used a lawfully held revolver to fire bullets at the suspected carjackers.
Kimberly Lightford, an Illinois state senator, was with her husband Eric McKennie when her Mercedes-Benz SUV was stolen Tuesday night, according to police in the Village of Broadview. Broadview is a suburb of Chicago.
At the time, authorities merely said bullets were fired during the carjacking and that no one was harmed, including the senator, her husband, and the suspected carjackers. However, Broadview Chief of Police Thomas Mills told the Chicago Tribune on Thursday that McKennie and a suspected carjacker exchanged gunfire.
Illinois State Sen. Kimberly Lightford, D-Maywood. (Reuters)
According to the Tribune, McKinnie is a legal gun owner with a concealed carry license.
"It was a lot of shots being fired. I think they were shooting at my husband and me and luckily enough my husband is concealed and carry and he was able to protect us," Lightford said about the incident in an interview with ABC 7.
"I am thankful that my husband and I are alive and physically unharmed," Lightford said in a statement earlier this week. "I want to thank everyone who has offered their love and support."
On Friday, the Broadview Police Department did not reply to Fox News' several requests for comment.
Lightford is the majority leader of the Illinois Senate. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-Pa., was carjacked at gunpoint in Philadelphia on Wednesday, making her one of two Democratic lawmakers carjacked in major cities this week.
"What happened yesterday was traumatic, but I refuse to let it dampen my love for the city of Philadelphia or the gem that is FDR Park," Scanlon said in a statement. "The fact is, this type of crime can happen anywhere and to anyone — yesterday it happened to me. Sadly, we know that over the course of the last year or two, since the onset of the pandemic, we have seen a spike in certain crimes across the country, including gun violence and carjacking."
