As the Wednesday Journal reports, on Monday morning, an Oak Park woman was preparing to take her baby to the doctor when a masked intruder burst into her apartment. The home invader then began beating the Oak Park woman with a baseball bat. During the beating, the woman dropped her 6-week-old baby. As the man continued to beat the woman about her upper body, a witness ran outside and waved down a passing police officer. The mother and infant were taken to Loyola Medical Center in Maywood, IL for treatment of fractures and lacerations. The Wednesday Journal also reports that Oak Park police have a suspect, Anthony K. Murdix, 42, of Aurora, IL in custody.
This is yet another heinous and violent crime committed within the Village of Oak Park – and I can’t help wondering if this mother could have prevented herself and her baby from being injured, if she had a gun (such as this mother-to-be protected herself). Obviously I can’t say for sure whether this particular woman would have wanted to own a handgun, or that it would have saved her in this case, but I sure feel better knowing that my loved ones can defend themselves during a home invasion.
This also shows that criminals who want to commit a crime will do so, regardless of the laws. The sad fact is that our society contains some individuals who will break into a home, beat a new mother with a baseball bat, and cause injury to a 6 week old child. It is also clear that even a police car right outside the home, as there was in this case, will not prevent such crime. Instead, law abiding citizens who wish to have a firearm for self defense should be allowed to do so – and maybe then we’ll see fewer such outrageous crimes. For that reason, I sincerely hope the Oak Park handgun ban is struck down in court.