'Just shoot him': Uptown man is pistol-whipped, shot at by would-be carjackers, CPD says

CHICAGO (WLS) -- The man who fought back against would-be carjackers in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood Wednesday night is speaking out after the ordeal.

Patrick Stanton was packing up his car in the alley in the 5100-block of North Glenwood Avenue when police said two men and a woman pistol-whipped and shot at him during an attempted carjacking in Uptown, near Andersonville.

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Stanton and his partner Brittany Hines are counting their blessings today. The couple, who were targeted while getting ready to move to Milwaukee for a new job, have found their sendoff from Chicago to be anything but a pleasant one.

"I was just trying to remain calm the whole time because we are moving to Milwaukee like right now and we needed the car," he said. "Just kinda try to play it off like the keys are upstairs -- I don't have them, just to delay, delay. This is a very common area, lots of dog walkers."

As the struggle continued, things started to escalate, while the suspect demanded the keys.

"He clipped me in the back of the head. At the time, I just kinda went a little bright and had to pull myself together and remain calm," Stanton said. "The third person was just shouting, 'just shoot him, just shoot him,' and I was like, 'OK, don't love that attitude,' and he actually passed the weapon off to her."

"I heard 'shoot him, shoot him,' and I was hiding behind the car and heard two shots fired," Hines said. "I would not wish that moment on anyone, to hear two shots fired towards somebody that you love and not know what you're going to see when you look around."

The shots went through the car door, but both Stanton and Hines remained uninjured as the three would-be carjackers ran away.

"Either I was stupid or smart. I couldn't tell," Stanton said. "I kept going through the motions of like, at every moment, I should just let this go."

Stanton said he also honked his horn in the hopes he could get his neighbors' attention.

"Heard a commotion, looked out the window, then started hearing screaming, honking and then three gunshots, saw a white car fly down Glenwood," said William Wellington, who called police when he realized what was going on. "It's very concerning; you hear about this all the time, but it's different when it's outside your front door."

He said he's lived there at least a year, and what happened is pretty unusual for the area.

The male suspects may have exited a white sedan before approaching the man, CPD said. Stanton said they looked young and were wearing hoods and a mask.

As the search continues for those suspects, the couple is moving with a new perspective on life.

"We're making our way up there to like kind of build a life together, and really zooming out; it's pretty great to just have each other," Stanton said.

According to CPD the number of carjackings in the city so far this year have remained pretty static, with 1,329 year-to-date, compared to 1,326 for the same time period last year.

"For this to be my last night in Chicago, in my favorite neighborhood...to have it be so tarnished, it's devastating," Hines said.

Police said no arrests have been made in this case so far. They are hoping surveillance video from this corner building, downloaded by investigators, will help lead them to those responsible.