Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt takes down alleged violent thief in Chicago 7-Eleven — then livestreams himself pinning man to floor until cops arrive



Idriz Redzovic, a third-degree Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt, took down an alleged violent thief in a Chicago 7-Eleven last week — and then took out his cellphone and began recording live video of him pinning the man to the floor until police arrived, WFLD-TV reported.

What are the details?

Redzovic — who runs Supreme Academy of Jiu-Jitsu in Lincoln Park — went to the 7-Eleven on Ashland and Lawrence to buy Slurpees for his kids Thursday night, the station said.

Image source: WFLD-TV video screenshot

But the black belt with 22 years of self-defense training noticed a man harassing people outside the store, WFLD noted.

Image source: WFLD-TV video screenshot

Apparently, the shady character also noticed Redzovic.

"He comes up to me and says, ‘What are you looking at?'" Redzovic recalled to the station. "In my training I tell people to take a step back, hands up, don’t engage unless you feel safe."

Image source: WFLD-TV video screenshot

Redzovic told WFLD he continued to watch the man, who soon made his way into the store and then appeared to attack an employee — a moment that was caught on surveillance video.

Then it was game over.

"Once I saw him actually connect and hit the employee in his head, I jumped in, grabbed him like I do in training here, put him down, flattened him like a pancake, and then I tied him up like a pretzel in a position called ‘Gift Wrap’ or ‘Twisting Arm Control,’" Redzovic recounted to the station.

Redzovic then took out his cellphone and began livestreaming himself keeping the man subdued — for 18 minutes, WFLD said.

Image source: WFLD-TV video screenshot, composite

His counterpart wasn't happy.

"Come on, man," he pleaded with Redzovic, unable to move from the floor.

"No, I’m not letting you go," Redzovic replied, according to the clip. "You were harassing those girls, and then you swung at that 7-Eleven employee."

Arriving officers arrested 30-year-old Christopher Cruz and charged him with two misdemeanor counts of retail theft and battery, the station said.

Image source: WFLD-TV video screenshot

What's more, police told WFLD that Cruz stole merchandise from the 7-Eleven earlier that day, and when Cruz returned, a 19-year-old employee told him to leave. Police said that’s when Cruz punched the employee — after which Redzovic made sure the suspect didn't get away, the station said.

A word of advice

Redzovic took a moment to let folks know that it's better to be proactive about learning self-defense than reactive.

"Sometimes people come to us after something happens to learn self-defense … why not learn it now?" he noted to WFLD.

Philly homeowner fatally shoots alleged trespasser who threw brick through window of his SUV



A Philadelphia homeowner on Wednesday night fatally shot an alleged trespasser who threw a brick through the window of his Alpha Romeo SUV, police told WPVI-TV.

What are the details?

Police got a 911 call about gunshots in the 4400 block of Fairmount Avenue just after 10:30 p.m., the station said, after which they found a shot 23-year-old man lying between two homes.

KYW-TV reported that he was hit with three gunshots to his chest and torso.

The man was taken to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, WPVI said. He was in very critical condition and was pronounced dead about an hour later, KYW reported.

Police told WPVI the 23-year-old man allegedly entered a rear fenced-in area of a home on Fairmount Avenue and then threw a brick through the window of a 2018 Alfa Romeo SUV that was parked in the home's back yard.

Authorities added to WPVI that the 49-year-old homeowner heard the noise and went outside to confront the trespasser, after which he shot the 23-year-old man.

"We believe the homeowner fired at least three shots from a semi-automatic weapon," Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small told WPVI. "We found three spent shell casings in the backyard area."

Small added to KYW that "preliminary information" indicates the homeowner "does have a permit to carry a weapon" and that "we believe that he was in his back yard when he confronted the 23-year-old, who broke into his vehicle using that brick, and the vehicle is inside of the enclosed back yard of the 49-year-old homeowner. But detectives are talking to that homeowner right now.”

Police told KYW they found a brick inside the homeowner’s vehicle, surrounded by freshly shattered glass.

The 23-year-old man ran about half a block from the scene before collapsing, Small told WPVI. Officers have not yet identified him, KYW said.

However, Small told WPVI that police know the 23-year-old man, and that his last known address is two blocks from where the shooting took place.

Anything else?

Police have the homeowner's gun, KYW reported, adding that he's fully cooperating with their investigation.

Small noted to WPVI that police got several calls prior to the shooting about a masked man trespassing behind homes in the area — and that one call indicated a man was breaking into a vehicle.

"We believe these calls are related to the shooting," Small noted to WPVI.