Man changing friend’s flat tire shot by carjacker in West Lawn, police say

A man helping a friend change a tire was shot and critically wounded during a struggle with a carjacker Monday evening in West Lawn, police said.

The man, 28, had just finished changing the flat tire in the 4700 block of West 64th Street about 6:25 p.m. when someone in a ski mask approached and tried to take the man’s car keys, Chicago police said.

The two struggled and the carjacker pulled out a gun, but the man knocked the weapon from the carjacker’s hand, police said.

Chicago police work a crime scene where a man was shot in the head and his vehicle stolen in the 6400 block of South Cicero Avenue, Monday May 24, 2021. The man was helping change a friend’s flat tire when he was shot. | Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times

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Chicago police work a crime scene where a man was shot in the head and his vehicle stolen in the 6400 block of South Cicero Avenue, Monday May 24, 2021. The man was helping change a friend’s flat tire when he was shot. | Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times

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A weapon magazine and a sandal are marked out as evidence at a crime scene where a man was shot in the head and his vehicle stolen in the 6400 block of South Cicero Ave, Monday May 24, 2021. | Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times

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The carjacker retrieved the gun and fired a shot, striking the man in the head, police said. He was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn in critical condition.

The gunman fled in the man’s dark blue Nissan Altima, police said. He was described as 18 to 25 years old and about 6-foot-1, wearing dark clothing and a ski mask.

The FBI’s Chicago office issued an alert for the Altima, warning people not to approach it but to call 911.

At the scene, officers placed several evidence markers around a wrench and what appeared to be an ammunition magazine.

Contributing: Tyler LaRiviere