Silke Jasso
While attempting to flee a robbery during an armed carjacking, a 27-year-old man was shot in the back in the South Loop.
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Early Tuesday morning in the 2200 block of South Wabash three masked men attempted to steal a 2006 grey BMW. The thieves got out of a silver Jeep Cherokee as the victim was walking down the street around 1:30 a.m., according to ABC 7.
The victim, identified by friends as Leon Jackson, was walking along the street with friends when one of the thieves pulled a gun on him in an attempt to rob him. Sarah Harper-Brazzle told NBC she was with the victim at the time and was running through an alley at the time she heard the gunshot.
“It was so close, you could see everything play out,” she told NBC. “It was horrible. I’ve never been through anything like that before.”
After hearing the gunshot she returned to the scene to find her friend on the ground, having received a shot to the back after attempting to run. Witnesses said the man holding Jackson at gunpoint told him “if you run, I will shoot you” as he tried to rob him on the sidewalk, according to NBC.
Jackson spoke out about gun violence just last week at a ceremony for his friend Blair Holt who was shot and killed in 2007, according to ABC. Holt was shot on a CTA bus as he tried protecting a friend from a gang member trying to shoot a rival.
“My name is Leon Jackson. Blair was one of my very, very close friends – more like a brother. He helped start at the organization YMCA, more than 13 years ago,” Jackson said at the ceremony.
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A few days later, this incident occurred resulting in the hospitalization of Jackson, yet another innocent bystander falling victim to gun violence in the city.
Jackson was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital and is in stable condition as of now, according to NBC. The driver of the BMW, a 28-year-old, was not injured during the incident and police continue to investigate the case.
