Chicago Tribune
CHICAGO — A man who intervened in a traffic crash and allegedly fired shots at a crowd of people early Thursday, hitting the windshield of a Chicago fire engine responding to the South Side crash, has been charged, authorities said.
Lavell Morris, 34, of the 7900 block of South Phillips Avenue, was charged with three felony counts of aggravated discharge of a firearm toward an occupied vehicle, according to Chicago police.
Morris appeared for a hearing Saturday at the Leighton Criminal Court Building, where a judge set bail at $250,000.
One of the three firefighters in the engine said he suffered a cut to his nose, apparently from flying glass.
The two-car crash happened in the 7900 block of South Yates Avenue just before 2:25 a.m., police said. One of the people involved in the crash called the man to the scene, and an argument ensued.
As firefighters in Engine 126 pulled up, the man retreated to a light blue Ford Marauder he parked at a Subway shop and grabbed a handgun, according to preliminary information from law enforcement.
The man fired from the edge of the parking lot, according to witnesses. A shell casing could be seen on the ground near his car.
Two firefighters had gotten out of the engine and three were inside when he started shooting, said one of the firefighters.
One firefighter said he heard three shots, one of them piercing the windshield. He appeared dazed as he stood inside the crime scene tape, hands on his hips, staring straight ahead.
A firefighter with a bandage covering his nose said flying glass had cut his face. He said he was thankful the situation wasn’t worse.
Another sighed, saying this was the second time in his 12-year career that someone fired shots at him while on the job.
Officers arrested a suspect and recovered a weapon, authorities said at the time.
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