Des Plaines man will be charged after standoff

A Des Plaines man will face gun charges after creating a standoff with police that began Thursday morning and was resolved peacefully around 6 p.m., police said.

The neighborhood, on the 1000 block of Rose Avenue, was on lockdown while police negotiated with an armed and suicidal man who had texted family members pictures of himself with a gun to his head, Police Chief Bill Kushner said.

About 5:45 p.m., SWAT team trucks began moving in toward the house flanked by five or six officers armed with rifles. A female voice on a loud speaker said, "You need to come out of the house right now. You need to surrender to Des Plaines police. You are under arrest."

Shortly after, several loud bangs were heard, followed by breaking glass. At 6:10 p.m., police brought the man from the house in handcuffs and put him on a waiting gurney before leaving with him in an ambulance. He was taken to Advocate Lutheran General in Park Ridge for observation.

It's the second time police have been involved in a standoff with the man at his home - the first time in October 2015, Kushner said. After that situation, the man's FOID card was revoked and police had his guns removed from his home. Later, a family member returned the guns - including a high-powered rifle and several handguns - to the man, police said. Other guns are believed to be stored in a gun safe within the home. Police plan to charge the man with unlawful use of a weapon and are considering charges against the family member who returned the guns to the man, Kushner said.

"The poor guy has got some issues," he said.

Police were called to the home on Wednesday of this week for a well-being check and then again Thursday morning, when the standoff began. After communications broke down, police deployed pepper spray, with no success. Knowing about the weapons in the home, Kushner said, police then called in a military-style SWAT vehicle and several officers in full body armor to end the standoff. Officers broke windows and deployed gas grenades, which then forced the man from the home.

Neighbors gathered in a parking lot of nearby Bridge Community Church throughout the afternoon waiting to gain access to their homes. Anyone who was already in their home at the time the standoff began was notified via the city's emergency alert system to stay put. The staff at nearby The Willows Academy, a private Catholic school for girls, was on lockdown and ordered to move to the south side of the building. School is not in session yet.

Nobody else was in the home and nobody was injured, police said.