Ex-CPD boss scares off would-be robbers targeting daughter outside Chatham home

CHICAGO - Former Chicago Police Supt. Terry Hillard scared off a group of would-be robbers who approached his daughter outside his Chatham home early on Memorial Day, exactly a year after Hillard was targeted in a paintball attack in his front yard.

Hillard’s daughter, a 47-year-old police sergeant, was getting into a car about 4:25 a.m. Monday when another vehicle pulled up, according to Chicago police and a law enforcement source, who identified her as the target of the attack.

She was then approached by three males, at least one of whom was armed and ordered her to get out of the car, police said.

Hillard was looking out his window and saw the attempted robbery unfolding, then snapped into action and ran out of his home "yelling and screaming," the source said. That’s when the suspects got in their vehicle and drove off.

Hillard’s daughter had explained to the suspects that she was merely trying to get to work, and they apologized before fleeing, police said. She was wearing a police uniform that was partially covered, and it was unclear whether the suspects realized she was a member of the department, the source said.

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No one was hurt, and no property was reported stolen, police said.

Lissa Druss, a spokeswoman for Hillard, said the former superintendent is "thankful that no one was hurt and his daughter is safe. He reminds everyone to be aware, be vigilant and to stay safe."

On May 29, 2022, a day before Memorial Day, Hillard was shot in the chest with a paintball gun as he watered his front yard.

Video of the attack obtained by the Sun-Times showed someone open fire from the front passenger-side of a car, striking Hillard and sending him falling onto a well-manicured lawn. Two teenage boys, then ages 16 and 17, were arrested and charged, police later reported.

The attempted robbery occurred just weeks after Officer Aréanah Preston was shot and killed outside her home in Avalon Park, about a mile and a half from where Hillard’s daughter was targeted. Preston was wearing her uniform and returning from work when a group of at least four teens allegedly tried to rob her, setting off an exchange of gunfire that ended with Preston having her gun stolen.

Four teens were charged in Preston’s killing and have been denied bail.