Husband of Democrat Lawmaker Who Was Carjacked in Illinois Exchanged Gunfire With the Attackers

 

The husband of Democrat Illinois State Senator Kimberly Lightford fired shots with his legal gun as she was being carjacked this week, according to reports.

The hijackers also shot at her husband, Eric McKennie, as they stole Lightford’s Mercedes-Benz SUV on Tuesday evening.

“It was a lot of shots being fired. I think they were shooting at my husband and me and luckily enough my husband is concealed and carry and he was able to protect us,” Lightford told ABC 7.

In a statement following the incident, Lightford said “I am thankful that my husband and I are alive and physically unharmed. I want to thank everyone who has offered their love and support.”

Lightford has been a major force in passing criminal justice reform that would make things easier for criminals like the ones who robbed her.

“Lightford helped lead the charge to pass the state’s wide-ranging overhaul of criminal justice-related laws, which passed in January. Among other things, the law decriminalized absences of less than 48 hours by people who are ordered to stay on pre-trial electronic monitoring, and it will eliminate cash bail in January 2023,” CWB reports. “Lightford is at least the second major sponsor of the legislation to fall victim to criminals this year.”

Fox News reports, “Lightford is the Illinois Senate majority leader. She is just one of two Democratic politicians to be carjacked in big cities this week – Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-Pa., was carjacked at gunpoint in Philadelphia Wednesday.”

“What happened yesterday was traumatic, but I refuse to let it dampen my love for the city of Philadelphia or the gem that is FDR Park,” Scanlon said in a statement. “The fact is, this type of crime can happen anywhere and to anyone — yesterday it happened to me. Sadly, we know that over the course of the last year or two, since the onset of the pandemic, we have seen a spike in certain crimes across the country, including gun violence and carjacking.”