Concealed handgun permit holder hailed as hero for coming to aid of Cicero, Illinois police officer

UPDATE: It is now clear that the good Samaritan is the one who wounded the criminal who had shot the one police officer four times and was shooting at the other officer. The video that provides that information is from CBS Channel 2 in Chicago.

Original: From the Chicago Sun-Times:

A man with a concealed-carry license was commended for coming to the aid of Cicero police who were engaged in a shootout with a man who shot and wounded an officer near the Stevenson Expressway Thursday, authorities said.

Cicero Police Officer Luis Duarte, 31, was shot four times during the encounter near the 4200 block of South Cicero Avenue during the evening rush hour, but it might have been worse if the armed citizen hadn’t stepped in, officials said.

“We were lucky enough to have a citizen on the street there who’s a concealed-carry holder, and he also engaged in gunfire,” Cicero Police Supt. Jerry Chlada Jr. said outside Mount Sinai Hospital, where Duarte was undergoing surgery Thursday night. . . .

An editorial in the Chicago Sun-Times notes: “Had the good Samaritan not joined the gun battle, the Cicero cop might not be alive today, and the accused shooter might have gotten away.”

Cicero Town President Larry Dominick said: “I want to applaud the citizen, a civilian, who risked his life to help in apprehending this armed suspect.”

While the Chicago Sun-Times editorial emphasizes one unpublished study (see here and here for a discussion of it), they ignore the dozens of peer-reviewed academic studies that show that right-to-carry laws reduce murder and violent crime.

The editorial also makes the claim: “Hang your argument on a single anecdote, and you can defend almost anything.” Here are other cases of concealed handgun permit holders coming to the rescue of police officers. After a quick search, here are seven other cases of defensive gun uses with permitted concealed handguns in just the Chicago area over the last year.

1. 08/19/2018, 03:16 am Man wounded after robbery turns into shootout in West Garfield Park
2. 03/28/2018 River North: Motorist With Concealed-Carry Saves Victim From 3-On-1 Beat-Down And Robbery
3. 12/14/2017 Man shot and killed in Target parking lot on Southwest Side
4. 12/12/2018 Would-be robber shot by man with concealed carry permit
5. 11/6/2017 Surveillance video shows how customer gunned down armed robber
6. 11/5/2017 Suspect Shot After Using Pellet Gun In Attempted Robbery On South Side
7. 06/18/2018, 10:53 am Concealed carry permit holder scares off home invasion suspect in Riverside

The permit holder has requested that he remain anonymous. Picture of permit holder is from the ABC Channel 7 TV news coverage.