Fire, police heads: Response to Engelhardt home was prompt

The 911 call that Amanda Engelhardt made from her family's Hoffman Estates home on April 17 kicked off a frenzied rush of activity from the village's public safety personnel, and officials from both the police and fire departments say they're satisfied with the response.

Engelhardt, 23, made the call at 6:44 a.m. that day. A minute later, Hoffman Estates paramedics were called to the scene, Fire Chief Robert Gorvett said. An engine and an ambulance arrived on the 1000 block of North Bluebonnet Lane at 6:51 a.m., a little more than six minutes after getting the call, he said.

As is usual with a crime scene, fire personnel waited in a staging area until police signaled that it was safe to enter the home.

Hoffman Estates police were called at 6:45 a.m., Police Chief Clint Herdegen said. The call originally came in as an ambulance assist, which is not something that necessarily would warrant a lights-and-siren response from an officer. Later, at 6:46 a.m., police were told that a stabbing had occurred, and the response was upgraded accordingly.

The first officer arrived on the scene at 6:50 a.m., three minutes and 59 seconds after police learned about the stabbing, Herdegen said.

Could the response have been faster? Gorvett doesn't think so.

"We and the police got there as soon as we could," he said. "Of course, you always wish it could have been sooner, but in this case, that could happen only if we'd been called there sooner."

Three members of the Engelhardt family were killed in the home on April 17. Prosecutors say 20-year-old D'Andre Howard fatally stabbed 57-year-old Alan Engelhardt, 18-year-old Laura Engelhardt and 73-year-old Marlene Gacek in a violent scene that stemmed from a domestic dispute between Howard and Amanda Engelhardt, Laura's sister. Gacek and Alan Engelhardt were declared dead at the scene. Laura, Alan Engelhardt's daughter, died hours later at St. Alexius Medical Center.

Also hurt in the attacks was Shelly Engelhardt, 52, Laura and Amanda's mother. She remains hospitalized in good condition at St. Alexius and may be released this weekend.

Herdegen said he's pleased with how police officers responded to the incident. After arriving on the scene, it took slightly more than a minute for the officers to secure it so that paramedics could come in and start treating the patients, he said.

"It was a big house with lots going on, so I think (the officers) did a great job," Herdegen said.

Gorvett said paramedics transported Shelly from the home to the hospital at 7:02 a.m. Laura Engelhardt was transported at 7:13 a.m., followed by Howard, who had been stabbed in the arm by Laura as she sought to protect her family, at 7:15 a.m.

Paramedics conduct medical assessments and in some cases administer emergency services before transporting patients. The fact that Laura was transported later than her mother could mean that she appeared to be in better condition or that she needed more medical prep work before being taken to the hospital, Gorvett said.

Hoffman Estates Mayor William McLeod and Trustee Cary Collins said this week that they're satisfied with the response to the incident.

"Police officers get the information, and they have to be a little bit prepared because they don't know what they're walking into," Collins, an attorney who represents police and fire pension boards for between 60 and 100 communities, said this week. "They might be concerned about whether it's a hostage situation. I do know our people are very, very good in responding. We've never received a complaint of a response to a residence."

Jeff Engelhardt, Laura and Amanda's brother, said in an interview Thursday that he has no problem with how police responded to the call.

"I imagine that everyone tried their best," he said. "It must have been a complicated call to handle."

• Daily Herald staff writers Eric Peterson and Jamie Sotonoff contributed to this article.

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=288783">Hospitalized Hoffman Estates stabbing victim improving<span class="date"> [4/24/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=288220">Church calm center of the storm in triple homicide <span class="date">[04/22/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=288228">Sometimes contradictory pictures emerge of slaying suspect <span class="date">[04/22/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=288221">Conant senior's death sets focus on domestic violence <span class="date">[04/22/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=288194">Police release 911 call in Hoffman Estates triple murder <span class="date">[04/21/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=287826">Police: Triple-murder suspect in custody 10 minutes before attacks <span class="date">[04/21/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=287665">No bond in Hoffman Estates stabbing deaths <span class="date">[04/20/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=287577">Engelhardts part of the family at St. Peter Lutheran Church <span class="date">[04/19/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=287580">Son recalls last words with a loving family <span class="date">[04/19/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=287529">Church reaching out to family after tragedy <span class="date">[04/18/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=287239">Suspect in triple murders had troubled past <span class="date">[04/17/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=287451">Future was bright for slain Conant senior, friends say <span class="date">[04/17/09]</span></a></li> </ul> <h2>Video</h2> <ul class="video"> <li><a href="/multimedia/?category=9&type=video&item=329">Three killed in Hoffman Estates </a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>