BROADVIEW, — Illinois Senate majority leader Kimberly Lightford said she is doing better after she was carjacked Tuesday night in Broadview.

The senator said she has a hard time not reliving what happened to her every time she closes her eyes. She said getting ready for her Christmas giveaway on Wednesday has helped her tremendously.

“I’m doing much better today,” she said. “I didn’t realize what a traumatic event could do in an adult.”

Lightford’s carjacking was partially caught on a Ring doorbell camera. She says she and her husband were dropping off a friend Tuesday in Broadview when three masked men jumped out of a car with guns and demanded their Mercedes SUV and other personal items.

“I begged them not to shoot us, not to shoot my husband, or me,” she said. “I told them to take whatever they want. They took everything off me that I had of value … After we got the guns off of us, they separated me and husband. After we got the guns off of us, my husband told me to run. I ran, reluctantly, because I didn’t want to leave him there.”

She said the event was scary, because she then heard shots being fired and thought the men were going to shoot her. She said her husband, who is a conceal and carry holder, fired shots as well. 

Police were able to the SUV — which happened to be a loaner from the dealership because the state senator’s car is currently having work done on her vehicle — but no arrests have been made.

The state senator is hosting a Christmas giveaway at Proviso West High School in Hillside.

Anyone with information about the carjacking can contact the Broadview Police Department at 708-345-6550.