AURORA (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Aurora police said those who carjacked and shot a woman in the parking lot of a Wendy’s restaurant in January may have done it because they were almost out of gas.
Aurora Police Chief Kristen Zeman said the break in the case came with a tip to the Aurora Crime Stoppers hotline leading to four suspects.
The four suspects include: one person who has died in an unrelated incident, a juvenile who has been charged in connection to the incident, Edward McGee, 26, of Harvey who has been also been charged, and a four person who is still on the loose.
According to Kane County court records, Edward McGee, 26, of Harvey was charged Tuesday with aggravated battery for discharging a firearm, aggravated vehicular hijacking, possessing a stolen motor vehicle and armed violence.
According to police, the 47-year-old woman stopped to get something to eat at a Wendy’s in Aurora at around 4 p.m. Jan. 16. She decided to eat in her car in the restaurant's parking lot; and that's when a Ford Escape pulled up and at least two men surrounded her vehicle.
The woman was forced out of her vehicle by two or three men, and then was shot in the back. The men then stole her car and drove off, police said. The woman was left in the parking lot with a shattered vertebrae and a bullet lodged in her spinal cord.
The woman has been identified as Kim Weibring. The mother of two young boys is now recovering at home and adjusting to life in a wheelchair, after undergoing surgery and spending six weeks in hospitals and rehab centers.
"That woman is now permanently paralyzed from the waist down. Let's pause there for just a moment and reflect on this. This woman, this mother, who was minding her own business, she represents all of us who move through the world each day without harming anyone," Chief Zeman said.
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She may not walk again, but she’s optimistic, according to her sister.
A GoFundMe campaign to help with medical expenses has raised more than $240,000.
McGee’s bail was set at $500,000 on Tuesday and he is currently in custody at the Kane County Jail.
The investigation is ongoing.
Weibring’s car was found in Harvey with numerous bullet holes. Chief Zeman said it was used in other carjackings; and she said, the Ford Escape, also stolen, that was left by the suspects in the Wendy’s parking lot was almost out of gas.
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