Concealed-carry holder, robber both killed in shootout in Roseland

A concealed-carry permit holder and a man attempting to rob a business were each killed in a shootout Saturday night in Roseland on the Far South Side.

Derrick Gholston, 43, was standing about 7:15 p.m. outside of a business in the first block of East 112th Place when he was approached by two men who flashed a handgun and demanded his property, according to Chicago police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

After Gholston complied, the two suspects entered the business and announced another robbery, police said. Gholston, who was a concealed-carry permit holder, then pulled out his own gun and confronted the robbers, leading to an exchange of gunfire.

He and one of the robbers, 18-year-old Carlos Smith, were each struck and taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, authorities said. Both were pronounced dead within an hour of the shootout.

An autopsy conducted Sunday said both men died of gunshot wounds to the torso, according to the medical examiner’s office. Both deaths were ruled homicides.

A 51-year-old man who was in the business during the robbery attempt was struck twice in the leg during the gun battle, police said. He was also taken to Christ, where his condition was stabilized.

The second male robbery suspect fled and has not been taken into custody, police said.

Area South detectives were investigating.