Police say three men responsible for a string of armed robberies in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood were stopped thanks to a concealed carry holder who was intended to be another victim of the crew.

CBS News reports that the man fended off the three armed men as he sat in his car around 6 a.m. this morning.

Three teens pulled up to a man in his car, one of them pulled a gun on him and demanded his belongings. The victim got out, struggled with at least one of the teens, then pulled out a gun and shot at them.

One teen was hit in the head and is listed in critical condition at Mt. Sinai. Another teen who was hit in the shoulder is listed in serious condition at Stroger Hospital. The third who was in the backseat was taken to an area hospital after he broke his leg in the crash.

Honestly, that only scratches the surface of this story. The website CWB Chicago, however, has more detail on the three teens, including the fact that they’re suspected of being responsible for more than a half-dozen armed robberies in the minutes before they encountered the armed citizen and licensed concealed carry holder.

The robberies began around 5:25 a.m. when three men stepped out of a black sedan and robbed a woman at gunpoint in the 2300 block of West North Avenue, according to a preliminary Chicago police report.

Six more robberies followed, with crews traveling in a stolen Kia and a second car, possibly an Audi:

• Four gunmen robbed a man in the 1600 block of North Damen around 5:25, taking his wallet and power tools. They fled in a gray car that had a trash bag over a broken rear side window, a report said.
• Three men emerged from the same car and robbed a woman at gunpoint in the 1600 block of North Hermitage around 5:28 a.m.
• Three men emerged from a gray car and robbed a group of people at a bus stop on the corner of Ashland and North avenues around 5:25 a.m. Two of those victims, both women, called the police after they arrived at work in the West Loop.
• Another victim was robbed at gunpoint in the 2200 block of North Milwaukee in Logan Square around 5:39 a.m.
• A delivery driver was robbed outside his work location in the 600 block of North Western Avenue at 5:43 a.m. by four men.
• Two people were robbed outside their office in the 2000 block of North Milwaukee around 5:46 a.m.

Then, at 5:53 a.m., the stolen Kia that was used in some of the robberies rolled up on a man who was inside his vehicle on the 4700 block of West Arthington in the Austin neighborhood.

Here’s the craziest part of this whole story: according to CWB Chicago, the second carload of violent criminals kept going after their compatriots crashed and were taken to the hospital; allegedly robbing a man at gunpoint at 6:25 a.m.

Police now have four people in custody facing a variety of felony and misdemeanor counts, while the concealed carry holder isn’t expected to be charged at all.

At least nine robbery victims, and who knows how many more there would have been if the suspects hadn’t rolled up on someone who had the means to fight back in self-defense. Chicago has plenty of gun control laws in place that aren’t stopping violent criminals. What the city really needs is more armed citizens like this gentleman.