CHICAGO, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- A Chicago man whose municipality bans homeowners from keeping guns, used one to stop a suspected burglar and has received some unexpected support.
Hale DeMar, 54, was home with his wife and two children when he confronted Morio Billings, 31, and shot him twice.
Billings jumped out a front window of the house and escaped in an SUV that had been stolen from DeMar earlier Monday, police told the Chicago Tribune.
He was caught a short time later when he drove the stolen SUV to St. Francis Hospital in Evanston seeking treatment for his wounds, police said.
While in the hospital Tuesday, Billings was charged with two counts of felony residential burglary and one count of felony possession of a stolen motor vehicle.
DeMar is barred from owning a handgun by village ordinance but has not been charged.
Village leaders do not seem anxious to punish him, though they also think the ban will remain.
"I'm glad the guy had a gun," said Wilmette Village Trustee James Griffith.
Police, too, seemed sympathetic.
"At this point our hearts go out to the residents that suffered this trauma," said Wilmette police spokesman Roger Ockrim.
