Standoff at Near North Side apartment tower follows Illinois State Police pursuit
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A SWAT team surrounded a luxury apartment building on the Near North Side Tuesday afternoon after two suspects ran in.
Police apprehended three suspects late Tuesday, and a fourth remains at large.
At a news conference Tuesday evening, Illinois State Police District Chicago Trooper and Capt. David Keltner said state troopers were tracking a stolen car around 4:45 p.m. The stolen car had been spotted on the Dan Ryan Expressway.
State police tried to pull over the stolen car near 47th and Federal streets, but the car sped off, Keltner said.
State police used license plate readers and aerial surveillance to track the car, and found it had made its way to the Old Town Park Apartments, 1140 N. Wells St.
Two suspects were arrested right away, Keltner said. One was captured outside, the other in the building.
But a standoff ensued, and Chicago Police called in a SWAT team.
Chicago Police Cmdr. Robert Rubio said the SWAT team cleared each floor of the building – displacing tenants for a short time. A third suspect was apprehended in a hotel unit of the building, he said.
Amid the standoff, some residents had to stay out in the cold, while others were stuck inside their own apartments.
"It's scary," said Jamie Tountas, who lives in the building.
A text message first alerted Tountas to the police search inside. For hours afterward, she said, Old Town Park Management gave her little information.
"For the last three hours, that's all they've been saying is that the elevators are down, ant that security is searching the building – but not giving us any update," Tountas said. "So I am stuck outside."
Residents wondered if one of the suspects may be renting a 12th-floor unit by the day.
"So as residents, we have been complaining to Old Town Park Management, saying, you've got to close these down," Tountas said. "It's not safe for us residents in here."
Residents were let back into the building around 9:15 p.m. – nearly five hours after the standoff began.
One ambulance came to the scene to check on a tenant, while another came to make sure a child was okay, Rubio said. But no one was injured.
A fourth suspect remained at large Tuesday night, but the building was secure, Rubio said.
Police also found two AK-style rifles in the suspect's car, and four handguns in the building.
The Office of Emergency Management and Communications said during the standoff, Division Street was closed between Orleans and Wells streets, while Wells Street was closed between Division and Hill streets.
