Armed Chicago-Area Mom Refuses to Become a Statistic, Takes Matters Into Her Own Hands During Home Invasion

In the Chicago suburb of Joliet, Illinois, a mother with a baby refused to become a statistic.

Instead, she shot and killed the man who invaded her home on the night of Aug. 15 — a man who was on parole for burglary violations at the time he died.

According to WLS-TV, the unnamed woman “heard someone break into her home” at around 10:30 p.m. “That’s when she took her child and hid in a bedroom closet on the second floor.”

“Police believe that when the suspect entered that bedroom, the woman opened fire, striking him in the head,” the report continued. “The suspect was pronounced dead on the scene.”

Officers found the woman in an adjacent bedroom when they arrived. Meanwhile, they found the man who was shot with gloves and a screwdriver.

WBBM-TV reported that he was unresponsive and was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics. Shaw Local, meanwhile, says the Will County Coroner’s Office pronounced him dead at 3:05 a.m. Saturday.

“A preliminary investigation indicated the woman and her child hid in a bedroom closet, and she armed herself after hearing someone forcibly entering the home,” WBBM said.

WBBM reported his identity three days later: Shelby Hurd, 36. He was apparently unknown to the woman who shot him.

An investigation is underway, although there’s fair evidence that Hurd pretty much got what he had coming to him.

In addition to breaking into an occupied home with gloves and a screwdriver while a mother and her child were there, Hurd had several burglary convictions in Will County and had served significant jail time.

In 2019, he was put into prison for vehicle burglary, possession of a stolen vehicle, and possessing a weapon as a felon.

Then, in 2024, he was sentenced to four years in prison — albeit with credit for 170 days time served — for two burglaries in 2022.

The U.K. Daily Mail, which reported the man’s criminal history, didn’t have information as to why he was back on the streets by early 2025 if he’d been sentenced to four years in the slammer.

Not only that, but as the Daily Mail discovered, Hurd’s apparent social media presence made it clear that this was a man you did not want to encounter in person.

As for his time in prison for the 2022 burglaries, he posted this about his incarceration onto shortly after he was released: “Sacrificed my peace and sleep. I did some sh [sic] you couldn’t imagine.”

Meanwhile, before his incarceration, in 2023: “I’m from the streets… Better look both ways before you cross me.”

This is the kind of thing that we deal with too much in the United States, and quite specifically in the Chicago area.

According to the Chicago Tribune, as of Aug. 21, 262 people have been murdered in the city of Chicago in 2025 — and that’s not counting suburbs like Joliet.

Yet, Illinois makes it prohibitively difficult to exercise one’s Second Amendment rights, with some of the nation’s most restrictive gun laws. As the state’s own website notes: “To legally possess firearms or ammunition, Illinois residents must have a Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) card, which is issued by the Illinois State Police to any qualified applicant.”

As for the unqualified — i.e., Mr. Hurd — these laws are no deterrent. Note that his 2019 conviction included charges of possessing a weapon as a felon. This didn’t stop him from being a felon, from all indications.

Thankfully, he didn’t have a gun. More thankfully, this mother did, despite all the hoops Illinois wants legal firearm owners to go through. Because of that, she’s not another statistic.

Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.