Police: Teen dropped loaded gun while fleeing from Palatine officers

Palatine police arrested a Hoffman Estates teen Monday on a felony weapons charge alleging he was found in possession of a gun when officers responded to a disturbance involving suspected gang members outside a village apartment complex.

Police Cmdr. Michael Seebacher said officers arrived at the Baldwin Green apartment complex about 11 p.m. in response to a call that teenagers were flashing gang signs at passing pedestrians and vehicles. The officers saw 10-15 teens standing outside the apartments, he said.

Seebacher said the officers recognized one of the teens, a 17-year-old from Hoffman Estates, as someone whose actions the apartment complex manager had complained about weeks earlier. The 17-year-old male attempted to flee on his bicycle, and as officers gave chase they saw him remove a black pistol from his waistband and drop it to the ground, Seebacher said.

"There was no indication that he was pointing it at the officers," Seebacher said. "He threw it on the ground."

Officers arrested the teen as he tried to enter an apartment building. He was charged with unlawful use of a weapon, criminal trespassing and resisting arrest.

Police say they are investigating where the teen got the pistol, which was loaded.

The teen, whose case will be addressed in juvenile court, is being held at the Cook County Juvenile Detention Center in Chicago.