Police: Men Use Air Rifle to Target On-Duty Firefighter

A fire alarm call to an Oak Lawn apartment building at the end of January led to the arrests of two men who police said pointed an air rifle at an village firefighter.

Alejandro Gonzalez, 23, of the 9300 block of South Harlem Avenue, and Carlos Gonzalez, 21, of the 8600 block of South 87th Avenue in Justice, were each charged Jan. 29 with one count of aggravated assault.

Charges stemmed from when  and  simultaneously got to an apartment in the 9300 block of South Harlem Avenue. As officers walked up to the front door of the building, they saw four people looking out of a second-floor window, the report said.

Law enforcement officials asked to be buzzed into the building, but the people told them the door was open.

When police saw smoke in the first-floor hallway, they began knocking on apartment doors to alert residents. A woman opened her door as soon as police knocked on it. She told them she had left food on the stove, which was causing all the smoke. Police said the woman had evacuated the other occupants and then reentered the building.

Firefighters dismissed police but as they were getting ready to leave, a firefighter ran up to officers and told them that the people on the second floor pointed what appeared to be a gun at the truck, police said. Fearing for his life, the firefighter had bailed out of the fire truck, which was parked in front of the building. Police moved to the second floor where the rifle had allegedly appeared and heard people inside the unit, they said.

Other officers were then called to the scene. They ordered occupants to exit the building and turn themselves in.

The men were handcuffed as they walked out, one by one. 

Witnesses told police that Alejandro and Carlos Gonzalez had been shooting an air rifle at the wall while the windows were open. When the fire alarm went off, Alejandro put a pistol in his pocket for protection and went downstairs with Carlos to investigate, according to the report.

Police noted that Alejandro said he “fired a couple of shots” at the wall with the air rifle and that Carlos did the same. Carlos handed the air rifle back to Alejandro when he saw police coming into the building with their weapons drawn.

Carlos told Alejandro to put the guns away. He placed them on a bed in the apartment. The pistol also turned out to be an air gun, reports said.

The firefighter signed complaints and both men were charged with aggravated assault. Their next court date is March 6.