Man charged with trying to kill woman, unborn child in Willowbrook shooting

A woman and her baby are expected to survive after the woman - who was eight months pregnant - was shot while driving on Route 83 in Willowbrook.

Bail was set at $2 million Friday afternoon for Lawrence D. Grant, 38, of the 8900 block of South Damen Avenue. He is charged with one felony count of attempted murder and one felony count of intentional homicide of an unborn child - intent. If found guilty, Grant could be sentenced to 31 years to life in prison.

Willowbrook police responded around 7 p.m. Jan. 28 to a crash on Route 83. They found the woman with a gunshot wound to her back. The baby was delivered while the woman was undergoing surgery. Both survived, according to a news release from the DuPage County state's attorney's office.

Authorities allege that Grant, the victim and her boyfriend argued inside a grocery store, and the dispute became physical. The three left in different vehicles.

Grant followed the woman and fired a gun several times, hitting the vehicle and the woman, authorities said.

He was found three hours later at the University of Chicago Hospital, where he had been admitted on an unrelated matter. The vehicle he drove was found on fire about a block away from the hospital, authorities said.

Grant also is charged with felony aggravated battery with a firearm and aggravated battery to a pregnant or physically handicapped person.

State's Attorney Robert Berlin said the allegation that Grant followed the woman and shot at her on a major highway was "unconscionable."

"This defendant's alleged violent behavior put the motoring public at risk and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," he said in the news release.