Neighbors woke up Thursday morning to the sound of gunshots and police tape outside their windows near South I Oka and Busse Avenues, with gunfire erupting after a car owner confronted someone trying to steal their vehicle.
“It was 6 in the morning like I was going to get ready for school in a half hour,” said Meghan Meyer. “I just hear boom, boom, and then boom, boom, boom, like about eight shots, seven shots.”
Meghan Meyer never imagined something like this would happen in her seemingly quiet neighborhood.
“I’m still jittering and like all day, I’ve had a pit in my stomach cause it was so out of nowhere,” she said.
Meyer said the shooting happened right behind her brother’s and parents' bedrooms.
“If the bullet was like a foot away from the front window it could have hit him when he was sleeping,” she said. “It could have hit my parents room—it could have been so close.”
It all started at approximately 6:15 a.m. when police received multiple calls for shots fired. Authorities said a resident was taking his dog outside when he noticed someone trying to steal his car in his driveway.
When he confronted the suspect, he ran back to a nearby vehicle, and that's when a series of gunshots rang out.
“He ran back to the vehicle and then as he got close to that vehicle again that’s when the gunshots started firing,” said Mt. Prospect Public Information Officer Greg Sill.
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The victim told NBC 5 everything happened so fast that he couldn't even see who fired the shots. Likewise, police say they aren't sure whether it was the would-be carjacker or the getaway driver that fired the weapon.
“The homeowner was able to dive for cover and get out of the way thankfully,” he said. “The dark colored SUV then fled northbound from the area towards Prospect Avenue.”
Police said the homeowner wasn’t shot, but suffered some minor injuries while diving for cover. At least two of the bullets struck his garage, according to neighbors. Police now reminding people to always call 911 if they see anything suspicious.
“We want everyone to be safe,” said Sill. “We want to make sure you know something like this isn’t going to happen to anyone else.”
Police are asking the public to look for a dark-colored SUV with a single horizontal taillight. No further information was available on the suspects, and the investigation remains ongoing.
