Two Democrat legislators who reportedly support the movement to reallocate funding for police departments were both carjacked at gunpoint this last week just one day apart.
On Tuesday, Illinois state Sen. Kimberly Lightford reported her vehicle stolen in Chicago. The next day, Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-Pa., was also robbed of her car, this time in South Philadelphia. Lightford told reporters after the incident that three suspects wearing masks approached her car while she was with her husband.
"I begged them not to shoot us, not to shoot my husband, or me," Lightford said, according to WGN News. "I told them to take whatever they want. They took everything off me that I had of value. After we got the guns off of us, they separated me and husband. After we got the guns off of us, my husband told me to run. I ran, reluctantly, because I didn’t want to leave him there."
Police noted that shots were fired during the incident, and Lightford told WBBM News that "I think they were shooting at my husband and me, and lucky enough my husband is conceal and carry, and he was able to protect us. He handled us, and he saved us. I call my husband my hero today."
In Philadelphia, Scanlon was reportedly approached by two male suspects who were armed and demanded her keys, eventually stealing her Acura MDX and her purse, which contained her government identification and cell phone.
Five teenagers were later arrested in nearby Delaware, including 19-year-old Josiah Brown, who is accused of being one of the two men who held up Scanlon at gunpoint and stole her car.
Both legislators have advocated for police reform in the past, specifically introducing legislation to allow mental health responders to replace officers in some situations, as well as making cuts to police budgets, according to Local 12.
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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