Chicago Firefighter Strikes Charging Man With a Halligan Bar: Witness Says He Then Checked on the Man
Late on Sunday afternoon, November 1, outside a church on Chicago's South Side in Illinois, a shirtless man charged at a firefighter holding a Halligan bar, and the firefighter swung the tool and knocked him to the ground. Video recorded by witness Cherokee Mahomes then went viral on X, Instagram and other platforms, with one Instagram repost drawing about 140,000 likes.
According to CBS News, as summarized by the fire-service outlet Firehouse, seconds earlier a police officer had fired a Taser at the man, but it was unsuccessful. The man then charged the firefighter, who was carrying the Halligan bar near the fire truck. The firefighter swung to protect himself, and the second swing caught the man in the head and knocked him out briefly.
The video shows that after the strike, the firefighter dropped the bar and went to check on the man. Mahomes told reporters: "He did what he had to do. He swung the weapon and he protected himself. And I noticed ... he had empathy, because after he swung the weapon, he dropped it ... and walked up on the man to make sure he was OK." She added: "I feel like he protected us. He's my hero to me. I'm on his side."
According to Firehouse, the man was apparently suffering a mental health crisis and is recovering. A Halligan bar is a steel forcible-entry tool firefighters use to pry open doors, not a weapon.
As of publication, the reports reviewed carried no official statement from the Chicago Fire Department about the incident, the man's name had not been released, and no exact street address was reported. GSM does not repost the viral clip; the facts above were checked against the witness's original video and reporting by CBS News, WGN and other outlets.
Source: Video recorded by witness Cherokee Mahomes
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 芝加哥消防局消防车资料图（Chicago Fire Department Engine Company 60，Jonathan Schilling摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经Wikimedia Commons；非事发现场图）
