Police arrested a 37-year-old man who fired at least 13 rounds from a handgun while trying to stop a vehicle that was stolen after he left it running outside his residence, Monday morning, according to Bloomington Police Dept. Capt. Ryan Pedigo.
Aound 5:25 a.m., Monday morning a man started a Silver 2004 Chrysler 300 in the 500 block of E. Graham Place in Timber Ridge, and left it running to warm it up according to the BPD. A few minutes later the man looked outside the residence, which he shares with his girlfriend, and saw the car leaving, according to the BPD. BPD Capt. Pedigo said the man then retrieved his girlfriend’s handgun, jumped into her Dodge Journey, and began to chase the driver who had just stolen the car. Pedigo said both cars belonged to the man’s girlfriend.
The man located the car at the Bruce’s Marathon gas station at the corner of South Walnut, and Winslow and attempted to block the car so the driver couldn’t leave, but the thief, believed to be a white male, went eastbound on Winslow, said Pedigo. And that’s when the man began firing at the moving vehicle.
A few minutes later the man located the car, with bullet holes, abandoned at Sherwood Hills, said Pedigo. Several callers reported multiple shots fired, and called the police, according to scanner traffic Monday morning.
No suspect in the car theft was caught, said Pedigo. However, the man who chased the car and fired the shots was arrested, and charged with a level 5 felony criminal recklessness with a firearm, pointing a firearm level 6 felony, and an A misdemeanor for carrying a firearm without a license, according to Pedigo.
Pedigo said it is always better to be a great witness to a crime than to get involved, and that it is extremely dangerous to shoot at a moving vehicle in a populated area. Pedigo would also like to remind people that the first rule of safely firing a gun is to know where your rounds are going to terminate.
Pedigo said there didn’t seem to be any indication of injuries from the gunfire.
In another vehicle theft a woman left a Blue 2002 Chevy Trailblazer running Sunday morning around 6:31 a.m., and a few minutes later discovered it was gone, according to Pedigo. The stolen vehicle has not been recovered, said Pedigo, who added drivers should avoid leaving a car unattended, and running.
All charges are mere allegations unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
