White Businessman Says Race Had Nothing to Do with Gunshot Fired at Black Man

FLOSSMOOR, IL — A local businessman charged with a hate crime Aug. 30 after firing his gun during an incident in downtown Flossmoor argues that anyone who knows him will say he's the furthest thing from racist.

Bryan Oedzes, of Dyer, Ind., owns an import/export business in South Holland but was helping at a friend's restaurant that evening. He has lived in Flossmoor intermittently for more than 20 years, and told Patch he actually enjoys the community's diversity.

Claims, therefore, that he uttered a racial slur at a black man in his vicinity are not only false, he says, but have caused an onslaught of threats and negative attention among local social media pages.

The incident began around 11:30 p.m. on Aug. 22, when police were called for reports of a man outside a Flossmoor restaurant shouting about someone trying to shoot him. A passing motorist also told police of a shooting outside the restaurant.

The victim was intoxicated, and told police he had stepped off the Metra train and was walking to Homewood-Flossmoor High School, on the west sidewalk in the 1000 block of Sterling Avenue. He told police Oedzes approached him and spat, "You need to get the (expletive) out of here. You don't belong here." The victim told police Oedzes then pulled a pistol and pointed the gun at him, at which point he turned, fled, and heard Oedzes fire one shot. He saw Oedzes point the gun toward the sky before he left.

Due to his intoxicated state, police declined to interview the victim more that night. They sent him home with plans to interview him later.

But his version is not really how things went down, Oedzes contends.

Oedzes told Patch he had been working at a local business with a friend and had stepped out for a break. On their way back, they noticed a man—later identified as the complainant—walking down the middle of the street, noticeably intoxicated.

He warned the man that he was walking in the middle of the street and urged him to get back to the sidewalk where he wouldn't be at risk of being struck by a vehicle.

"I was really trying to be helpful, thinking that I was doing the guy a favor," he said. "And it was very hard to know because he was intoxicated, but he was yelling back at us. I said, get yourself over where you’re safe, but don’t be walking in the middle of the street.'"

The man then came toward them, and Oedzes became concerned for his safety and that of his female friend alongside him. He advised her to go inside the nearby business and duck behind a stainless steel counter until police arrived.

Oedzes, who has multiple sclerosis, finds it difficult to physically defend himself. He has a concealed carry permit from the State of Indiana.

"The gentleman kept walking toward me," he said. "I pulled the gun out in its holster, asked him to turn around and walk toward the opposite side of the street. He refused, kept coming toward me. I then pulled the gun out of its holster hoping the sight of the gun would register something with him."

The man then dropped to his knees, Oedzes said, asking what he wanted. Oedzes told him he simply wanted the man to turn around and head away from him, toward the Metra platform.

"I told him to keep his hands where I could see them," Oedzes said. The man initially walked away, but then turned back to face Oedzes and once again came toward him.

Oedzes said he then fired a shot aimed at least 50 feet to the right of the victim.

"It was absolutely a warning shot," he said, to demonstrate that he was serious. He had no plans to strike the other man. And he never said one word about his race, he argues, a claim he says a witness can back up.

"I’ve chosen to live in a racially diverse community and enjoy the community that I live in," he said. "Business owners on either side of the shop that I was working at, are all African-American. It’s just the furthest possible thing from the truth, and the last thing anyone in the community who knows me would think."

He has spoken with police about threats to his safety and that of his loved ones. The business where he was working that night has also requested additional police presence.

"I’m adamant that there was nothing to do with race regarding the situation," he said.

"It stirs up a lot of emotion and it causes people to say things and act in manners that they otherwise wouldn’t."

Oedzes was also charged with aggravated discharge of a firearm in addition to the hate crime and is due back in court on Sept. 21.