Illinois Sen. Kimberly Lightford’s Carjacking Terror — ‘I begged them not to shoot us’

Illinois Senator Kimberly Lightford said she feared for her life and begged suspects not to shoot when she and husband Eric McKennie were broken into earlier this week. The incident ended in a gunfight between McKennie and the robbers.

Broadview Police Chief Thomas Mills said three masked men in a Dodge Durango SUV hijacked Lightford’s Mercedes SUV in the 2000 block of South 20th Avenue, a suburb of Broadview, around 9:45 p.m. Three. Lightford and her husband, Eric McKennie, went to the suburbs to see off a friend, Chicago Tribune reported.

McKennie had a gun and exchanged guns with at least one of the suspects, Mills said. McKennie has a concealed license to practice. No one was injured in the incident. The masked suspects drove the Mercedes and Durango, but the Mercedes was recovered later.

Lightford, an Illinois Democrat SenateThe majority leader, recalled her horror when she and her husband were forced out of their car.

“Three guys just came out with guns and they asked us to get out of the car and they put my husband on the ground,” she said, according to ABC7.

“They arrested me on the other side. I begged them not to shoot us and I begged them not to shoot my husband and not to shoot me.”

Lightford said her husband told her to run while he exchanged guns with the suspects.

“I thought for sure they would shoot me down. There were a lot of shots that were fired. I think they were shooting at my husband and me and luckily my husband was able to hide and he was able to. protect us.”

Lightford said she did not believe she was targeted and the carjacking was random. Her Office and Broadview Police The department has been contacted for additional comment.

The incident happened when another Democratic, Pennsylvania lawmaker Congressman Mary Gay Scanlon, promotes “common sense” gun laws will be passed after she was attacked with a gun in Philadelphia on Wednesday.

“What happened yesterday was traumatic, but I refuse to let it diminish my love for the city of Philadelphia or the jewel that is FDR Park,” the congresswoman said in a statement.

“The reality is, this type of crime can happen anywhere and to anyone — it happened to me yesterday. Sadly, we know that over the past year or two, since During the pandemic, we’ve seen certain crimes across the country, including gun violence and carjacking.No one has to go through this illegality and I will continue to promote the resources and policies that help reduce violence in our community.”