An Illinois man with a concealed-carry permit used his AR-15 to stop a bloody stabbing attack in his neighborhood on Monday.
"I poked my head out the door," Dave Thomas told WGN9. "There was a pool of blood. Blood was everywhere in the hall."
The stabbing happened on Monday in Thomas's apartment complex in Oswego Township, Illinois. Thomas said after he witnessed the confrontation and the blood, he went to retrieve a firearm so he could intervene.
"I ran back into my house and grabbed my AR-15," Thomas told the news station. "I grabbed the AR-15 over my handgun—bigger gun, I think a little more of an intimidation factor. Definitely played a part in him actually stopping."
Thomas said he specifically choose his AR-15 as the appropriate weapon because of the rifle's light weight, versatility, and intimidation effect.
"The AR-15 is my weapon of choice for home protection," Thomas said. "It's light, it's maneuverable. If you train and know how to use it properly, it's not dangerous. And this is just a perfect example of a good guy with an AR-15 stopped a bad guy with a knife. And there were no lives taken, so all in all it was a good day."
Once confronted by Thomas and his AR-15, the attacker ran off. The suspect was found shortly afterwards, according to the Chicago Tribune. There is no report on whether Thomas will face any charges for stopping the attack, but police did tell WGN9 that he had a valid Firearm Owner's Identification Card, which Illinois requires for gun ownership, and a concealed-carry permit.
The stabbing victim was taken to Rush Copley Medical Center in Aurora, Ill., but there is no report on the person’s condition.