Nov. 02--A robbery was thwarted at a Southwest Side corner store Saturday night when a patron with a concealed carry license shot and killed an armed robber, authorities said.
The dead man has been identified as Reginald Gildersleeve, 55, of the 5000 block of South California Avenue, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office. Gildersleeve was pronounced dead on the scene at 7:10 p.m., according to the medical examiner's office. An autopsy is slated for Sunday.
Citing preliminary information, police said a man walked into a store in the 2700 block of West 51st Street in the Gage Park neighborhood around 7 p.m., announced a robbery to an employee working behind the counter and displayed a handgun.
Another employee came from the back of the store, and the gunman pointed his weapon at her, police said. He then made her go to the back of the store, which also serves as a currency exchange.
After that, a customer who was also inside the business pulled out a gun and opened fire at the robber, killing him, police said. Police initially said the robber was possibly in his 40s.
Police said the shooter has a valid concealed carry license and a valid firearm owner's identification card.
Another man was killed in a later shooting about 8:35 a.m. Sunday.
A 23-year-old man died after he was critically wounded in the chest in the 4100 block of West 31st Street in the Little Village neighborhood on the Southwest Side, police said. The man was later identified as Eric T. Jones, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office; no home address was immediately available for Jones, who was pronounced dead at 11:33 a.m.
The man was walking on the street when a male attacker pulled out a weapon and fired shots in his direction, striking him in the chest, police said. The shooter then got inside a red SUV and fled.
The 23-year-old was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead, police said. Police said the man was a documented gang member and a convicted felon.
At least five more people have been wounded in other shootings across the city since Saturday night, police said:
--At 1:25 a.m. Sunday, a 26-year-old man was shot in the Fuller Park neighborhood on the South Side, said Officer Hector Alfaro, a Chicago police spokesman. He was leaving a party in the 4900 block of South Princeton Avenue when he was shot in the hip, Alfaro said.
He ran back into the basement Halloween party holding his side, said partygoers who had come outside in costume -- a scarecrow, a clown, a sailor -- to check out the scene.
"I hit the ground," said a woman wearing strands of plastic beads. "I thought they would come in after him."
The front yard was decorated with yellow caution tape that mimicked the real crime scene tape police strung outside. The basement had been turned into a haunted house with fake blood and cobwebs, said one officer who stood outside picking strands of the cobwebs out of his bulletproof vest.
--Just before 11 p.m. Saturday, three men were shot in the Burnside neighborhood on the South side, Alfaro said. They were in a car in the 9000 block of South Greenwood Avenue when shots were fired at them from a white sedan. The men then got themselves to Advocate Christ Medical Center.
A 21-year-old man was shot in the left cheek, right eye and buttocks, Alfaro said. He was listed in critical condition.
A 23-year-old man was shot in the right arm and back. His condition was stabilized.
A 34-year-old man was shot in the left shoulder. His condition also was stabilized.
--At 10:25 p.m. Saturday, a 23-year-old man was shot in the Belmont Central neighborhood on the Northwest Side, Alfaro said. He was walking in the 5700 block of West Fullerton Avenue when someone shot him in the back and shoulder. He went to Community First Medical Center, and his condition was stabilized.
