Masked attackers hurl incendiary device at hospice patient's Chicago home; no arrests

Two masked men attacked the home of a terminally ill woman in Chicago Lawn, Chicago, on Monday night, hurling an incendiary device toward the front living-room window while a companion used a bat to smash at the door, according to video captured by the house's doorbell camera and interviews with the victim's family.

The device did not enter the house or detonate, and no one was reported injured. The homeowner, Patricia Nelson, is receiving hospice care for pulmonary hypertension and was in the residence at the time of the attack, her daughter, Nishia Thornton, told ABC7. Thornton said she feared for her mother because oxygen equipment was positioned near where the device reportedly landed. "I was screaming, 'Get down! Stay down! Are you OK?' I'm more worried about her than myself," Thornton said.

The home's Ring camera footage, provided to local media, shows two individuals wearing masks. One is seen swinging a bat at the front door and smashing a camera and glass, while the other appears to throw an incendiary device from the front lawn toward the window. After the attack the men fled in a dark-colored sedan, driving northbound on Kedzie Avenue toward 72nd Street, Thornton said. Police told the family that no arrests had been made.

Nelson, who has lived in the house for about 30 years, said she does not plan to leave. "I'm not going to let them run me out of my house," she told reporters. Thornton said the family does not know why the home was targeted and does not believe it was a robbery. The family has urged investigators to review a red-light camera in the direction the suspects fled to help identify the vehicle.

Chicago police confirmed they were investigating but provided no immediate update on suspects or motive. Local news outlets reported the family spoke to authorities and to ABC7 out of concern the assailants might return.

The attack comes about two weeks after former President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that the National Guard had been helping cities with crime problems and that "we'll go in and we'll straighten out Chicago," comments that drew public rebuke from city leaders. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, writing on X, called the comments "beneath the honor of our nation" and said the city would defend its democratic institutions. Illinois' governor issued similar criticisms.

Authorities in Chicago have faced scrutiny over elevated violent crime in some neighborhoods, and violent incidents captured on private surveillance systems have increasingly been used by families and investigators to seek leads. The investigation into Monday night's attack is ongoing; police asked anyone with information or footage of the vehicle's route to contact investigators.