A University of Chicago student bravely fought off an attacker by grabbing his gun after three students were assaulted minutes apart on one of the busiest blocks near campus on Wednesday.
A nearby surveillance camera captures the moment Madelyn, 21, confronted the suspect and grabbed his gun before the robber got into a getaway car with his phone.
“I can put my hands on the gun… and take the magazine off, and I throw it in the bush,” Maddi said. ABC7.
The masked attacker, seen on camera wearing a black hoodie and light-colored pants, fled with his driver in a black vehicle.
Minutes before Maddi was robbed, four armed suspects approached two students and demanded property. They fled the scene in a black Infiniti car.
A University of Chicago student bravely fought off an attacker by grabbing his gun after three students were assaulted minutes apart on one of the busiest blocks near campus on Wednesday.
A nearby surveillance camera captures the moment Madelyn, 21, confronted the suspect and grabbed his gun before the robber got into a getaway car with his phone.
The first robbery occurred around 2:50 p.m. Wednesday, when two students were held at gunpoint at 5640 South University Ave on the Hyde Park campus.
They complied. And the four suspects were able to flee in a black four-door Infiniti.
Five minutes later, two armed men approached Maddi and demanded her belongings as she was leaving the campus at 1367 East 56th St.
‘I was walking home from class and I saw a man in a mask approaching me. And he comes towards me and I think, ‘keep walking,’ but then we have an altercation.’
Maddi can be seen turning around, apparently asking others for help, when the attacker showed his gun and snatched her phone.
“He’s grabbing my phone,” he recalled in an interview with NBC‘and I’m putting it behind my back.’
The senior economics student said she doesn’t remember what happened next, but she was able to grab the gun.
‘In the fight, I was able to take the magazine out of his gun and threw it into a bush. But at the time I didn’t know what I was grabbing.’
The masked robber can be seen searching for the charger for a few seconds, before returning to the dark colored vehicle parked nearby.
“I think the fight definitely started, but I’m in no way advocating resisting armed robbery. “I think it really wasn’t the right decision,” Maddi said.
No injuries were reported and Chicago police are investigating the robbery.
“I don’t blame the campus…I don’t blame the bystanders…I don’t blame the police…they did a great job,” Maddi said.
“I think it’s just about finding the people who committed this attack, because they will do it again,” she said, adding that she normally feels safe walking around campus.
UChicago police issued a statement shortly after the incident, saying, “Please be alert and aware of your surroundings at all times.” Don’t resist an armed robbery unless it’s absolutely necessary.
‘Avoid the use of mobile phones or other electronic devices on the street. When you walk, try to walk with a group or have a friend walk with you. There is security in the union,” the statement reads.
Michele Rasmussen, dean of students, wrote: “UCPD and our campus safety ambassadors have increased their presence in the area.”
“Although the overall number of burglaries in our area has decreased over the past year, we continue to take active steps to reduce crime.”