OAK LAWN, IL — A part-time Merrionette Park firefighter with a valid concealed-carry license is charged with reckless discharge of a firearm after he shot at a man he thought was armed with a gun Saturday afternoon, his attorney says. Jeremy Bruno, 30, appeared before Cook County Judge John Mahoney Sunday on a felony charge of reckless discharge of a firearm. Bruno is also an alleged victim in the same incident.

According to court documents, Bruno was attending a child's fifth birthday party around 4 p.m. June 15 near 90th Street and Austin Avenue in Oak Lawn when a Dodge Charger roared past the host's home at a high rate of speed. A guest at the party threw a beer can but missed the vehicle. The driver — later identified as 24-year-old Jaime Salinas, of Oak Lawn — turned around and headed back to the home where another beer can was hurled, the prosecutor said. Salinas allegedly plowed into the host's mailbox and her neighbor's before smashing into the side of Bruno's truck. The prosecutor said Salinas was flashing gang signs at some guests, and while Bruno was inspecting the damage on his truck, Salinas boxed him in and pointed what appeared to be a gun at him.

Bruno fired two shots at Salinas from his Ruger LCP .38-caliber handgun, "endangering the safety of the general public," court records said. Salinas fled, according to Bruno's attorney Robert Olson, and Bruno was brought to the Oak Lawn police station where he was charged with a felony. He was released on $10,000 bail and placed on electronic monitoring during a bond hearing Sunday morning at the Leighton Criminal Courts Building. Later that evening, the prosecutor said Salinas returned and churned up the party host's yard with his Dodge Charger. Salinas hit another mailbox and was spotted by police around 10:30 p.m., speeding through residential streets with his bumper dragging on the pavement, according to court documents.

Oak Lawn police followed Salinas, who they said was driving 80 mph in a 25-mph speed zone. The prosecutor said police called off the chase after Salinas blew three stop signs. The party host also alleges that the next morning, all four of her tires had been slashed. Salinas turned himself into Oak Lawn police June 17. Salinas was charged with a felony count of aggravated fleeing and eluding, as well as misdemeanor charges of criminal damage to property and several traffic violations.

The judge initially turned down Olson's request to remove Bruno from electronic monitoring, but later changed his mind after hearing the allegations against Salinas.

"Have you ever seen the movie 'Falling Down,'" Mahoney asked Salinas, describing the 1993 movie about a middle-aged man consumed by bitterness over a divorce committing an escalating string of crimes.