Des Plaines man dead following standoff with police

A Des Plaines man found dead Sunday night after police responded to a domestic violence report at his home killed himself, Cook County medical examiner’s officials said.

An autopsy Monday confirmed the 46-year-old man’s death was a suicide.

Police said in a news release that firefighters were called to the man’s home on the 1300 block of Phoenix Drive about 5:30 p.m. Sunday to treat a woman for a bloody nose. After paramedics determined the woman was a victim of domestic battery, she was escorted from the residence and transported to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge.

Des Plaines Police Chief Jim Prandini said firefighters “thought they heard rustling upstairs.”

After police arrived, officers attempted to speak with the man but got no response, Prandini said.

“We never talked to him,” he said.

Prandini said the department’s tactical response team was called because of the injuries suffered by the woman, who told police and paramedics there were weapons in the home.

“He was actually in possession of two guns,” Prandini said. “So that’s why they backed up and set up a perimeter and tried to coax him out. They (the tactical response team) are trained to handle high-risk entries. The whole idea was to try and get negotiators in.”

Nearly three hours into the standoff, the team entered the home and found the man dead in his bedroom, along with a semiautomatic handgun. Neither firefighters nor police heard a gunshot, Prandini said.

Prandini said the deceased’s wife had surgery for injuries not considered life-threatening and had not been released from the hospital as of Monday afternoon.

According to the woman, the couple were having recurring marital problems and Sunday’s fight wasn’t their first, Prandini said. However, police had never before been called to the home for domestic violence complaints, he added.