Neil McCarthy, 27, and Carisa Lerner, 26, took a brief weekend trip from Minnesota to Chicago. The pair was having a wonderful evening on Chicago’s lakefront for the first time when they noticed three males approaching. They came up jokingly and asked, ”Hey, how’s it going? Do you want to give me money?” McCarthy said. To which the pair replied, ”Not ideally.”
One of the males then pulled out a knife and demanded McCarthy’s money and phone. McCarthy felt he’d appeased the muggers by giving them what they needed, but one of the guys began to “search” Lerner, something McCarthy wasn’t going to let. He lost it as the guy was rifling through his belongings and another person was manhandling his partner, McCarthy explained.
McCarthy is a native of London who is a PhD student in security technologies at the University of Minnesota. He previously served in Afghanistan as a Senior Aircraftman in the Royal Air Force. Although the veteran was successful in removing the man off his fiancée, he was wounded in the shoulder while attempting to place the knife-wielding man in a headlock.
Ignoring his injuries, McCarthy took command of the situation by taking the knife by the blade. He stabs back, McCarthy explained. The other two people are beating him in the head, and he acquires the knife by grasping the blade, which is not a good action when being stabbed. But he had the knife at the time. Ultimately, he was in command. He’s only begun defending himself with a knife.
They revealed their real colors and bolted like cowards when McCarthy managed to knife one of the muggers, but it wouldn’t be the last they saw of the veteran. McCarthy’s injuries were treated by medical personnel as cops came. A guy cycling by had contacted the cops, and when they came, he was carrying the bloody dripping knife, so he just put his hands up, he explained.
McCarthy used the Find My iPhone app to trace his phone, which was barely 100 feet away, after being stitched up by medics. It took him right to one of the assailants. McCarthy ran after the man, captured him, and took him back to the police station. He basically leaped on him, dragged him up to the sidewalk, wrapped his arms around his back, and then the cops drove up pretty fast, cuffed him, and took him into custody, Lerner explained.
Two of the three guys who robbed the couple have been recognized as Noe Mondragon, 22, and Luis Salgado-Camargo, 18, both of Chicago. Mondragon was arrested and charged with aggravated battery/use of a dangerous weapon as well as armed robbery. As per Chicago Police, Salgado-Camargo was charged with two felony counts of armed robbery.
McCarthy claims he dislikes stabbers but loves Chicago. A minor knife wound and a misplaced passport will not deter the pair from returning.
It’s not often that stories like this have a happy conclusion, but when they do, it’s fantastic because all like a good narrative about justice being served. This time, three jerks chose the wrong victim, and it cost them dearly. McCarthy was not only fearless of fighting to defend the woman he loves, but he also had the training to do so.
But, not everybody does, and the situation could have gone out very badly. Stories like these are a good reminder of why we need to be vigilant of our surroundings, particularly in foreign cities, and why we should all be ready with lawful methods to safeguard ourselves and our loved ones in the case that danger hits.
