Wood River, Illinois- An Illinois father took matters into his own hands last week after learning his daughter had suffered an assault at the hands of a violent perpetrator.
The angry father shot the man in the street.
The incident involving the father and alleged perp occurred off North 6th Street, right by Lewis and Clark Junior High School in Wood River, Illinois according to police.
Patch Illinois revealed that police officers in Wood River received a report around 2:30 a.m. Tuesday of a domestic battery at a home on Mildred Street. As KTVI reported, a severely beaten woman went to her parent’s house and revealed to them and police the person responsible for assaulting her.
Police responded by going to her parents’ address, only to find the female had gone to meet officers at the Mildred Street home. The woman’s father had also left his house.
The female’s father had gone out and managed to track down the individual who hurt her. He then shot the lowlife in the middle of the street on North 6th.
Here is KTVI’s video report on the incident:
KTVI exclusively spoke with neighbors who witnessed the shooting. One neighbor revealed that after he heard a gunshot, he stepped outside and saw the woman’s father standing over a younger male, pointing a gun at him.
He heard the younger man beg the father not to shoot him. The older man, in response, screamed, “That’s my daughter! She means everything to me!”
According to the neighbor, the father then shot the thug and waited for police to arrive. The neighbor said he heard the younger man screaming in severe pain while the father did not appear seriously injured.
Police confirmed both men suffered gunshot wounds. One was taken to the hospital by ambulance, the other via helicopter.
Most residents KTVI spoke to did not blame the father for defending his daughter. However, local resident Dawn Howard thought the situation could have been handled differently.
“It’s hard to blame a parent. There’s five girls in our family, and I can see all of our dads going after a guy,” Howard said. “But with a gun? No…beat him up; don’t shoot him.”
Police, at this point, have not released the names of the men involved and refuse to say if either has been charged. The Wood River Police Department plans to turn the case over to the Madison County State’s Attorney once they finish their investigation according to KTVI.
