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Strangers Save Woman By Hiding Her In Truck As Ex-BF Chases Her With Gun

by Katie Corvino
Joliet Police Station/Shutterstock

A woman's life was saved due to the help of three strangers and their extremely kindhearted and quick-thinking gesture.

On Thursday morning, a woman left a dental office on the west side of Chicago screaming for help.

According to three furniture workers who spoke with DNAinfo Chicago, the woman ran toward the men yelling,

Let me get your phone! Let me get your phone!

The men explained to DNAinfo,

She said, 'Someone's shooting!'

The woman's ex-boyfriend, who was later identified as Clint Engle, was reportedly in the office with a gun.

The three workers said the woman looked fearful and knew her life was in danger. One of the men, Mike Zaininger, shared,

She knew she was being looked for, the way she was hiding. Our immediate reaction was, 'Get in the truck.'

The woman hid in the moving truck and the workers ended up taking her to one of their customer's apartments close by. The men later learned the ex-boyfriend was looking for her in an alley.

Another mover, Cody Grant, told ABC affiliate WLS,

The cop pulled up next to us and said 'Hey, you are the ones that saved her life.'

Engle, 40, was found in the alley by the dental office and pronounced dead around 3 pm. Greg Matoesian, one of the dental patients, explained the situation from his point of view.

He told the station he saw the ex-boyfriend holding a "small assault rifle" and then heard a shot. He shared,

I am sitting in the dentist chair getting my teeth looked at, and the dentist just coming in and introducing himself, and all of sudden he says, 'Come with me,' and 'Get out here.'

According to Dentist Deepak Neduvelil, the ex-girlfriend was the clinic's office manager. The owner believes the man was trying to kill her, but he's "happy that she is safe."

Engle reportedly had a violent history with his ex-girlfriend and her family. In 2002, he attacked her father with a golf club and served more than a decade in prison for home invasion and battery.

Joliet Police Station

The court records state,

Engle was angry because he believed that the father would not allow him to date the daughter. During the beating, Engle reportedly told the father, 'You're going to die for not letting me go out with your daughter.'

Luckily the woman wasn't injured during the latest incident, but if it wasn't for the help of the movers, things could have ended differently.

Citations: Movers Hid Woman In Truck As Armed Ex Searched For Her At Dental Office (DNAinfo)