Two men are in custody in Chicago after allegedly beating a Chicago firefighter Wednesday.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

After 9/11, you don’t even want to think about messing with a firefighter.  And particularly not a Chicago firefighter.

Police caught the alleged offenders in the act.

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

Blood stained the sidewalk Wednesday near Dickens and Halsted, a posh Lincoln Park corner where you can get a fancy French meal, buy expensive shoes and practice yoga.

That’s the spot where Chicago firefighter Matt Jones was brutally beaten about 4 that morning by two attackers who are now in custody, police said.

Matt Jones won the “top physical achiever” award in his Chicago Fire Academy class. He graduated from the academy Feb. 1.

Jones, 24, was listed in critical but stable condition with a shattered trachea in Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center’s intensive care unit. He also suffered a broken nose, internal bleeding and a damaged lung, according to a law enforcement source.

When police patrolling the area arrived, one attacker was punching Jones while another man stomped on his head, police said.

As officers got out of their squad car, one of the attackers took two steps, kicked Jones in the face and tried to run away, a source who was briefed by police said.

The two had been drinking, police said.  Of course.

I know there’s a horrible propensity in our culture to blame the victim. However, according to all reports, Matt Jones sounds like a great guy.

I suspect these guys are going to live to regret this alleged beating in more ways than one.