Downers Grove standoff ends with arrest

A Downers Grove man has been arrested after barricading himself inside his home near Highland School for more than eight hours.

Police responded to a report of a domestic situation at the home on the 4100 block of Highland Avenue at about 12:15 p.m., Downers Grove Sgt. Dave Bormann said. They then placed the school on a soft lockdown after the man barricaded himself inside the home.

The man, whose name police have not yet released, was arrested at around 9 p.m. The woman who was inside with him during the standoff left the home at approximately 8 p.m.

The house is on a dead-end block, which was shut down at 40th Street during the standoff.

The original officers responding to the call found the man standing in front of his house, but when he saw the officers he ran back inside the house and set up the barricade, Bormann said.

Multiple area police departments were on the scene assisting with the situation as well as a multijurisdictional SWAT team, Bormann said.

Police said the woman inside was not considered a hostage during the standoff.

Parents of students at the school were alerted through an automated call to both home phones and cell phones as well as an e-mail message informing them of the domestic situation on the block, Yudzentis said.

Students who ride the bus boarded on 39th Street because 40th was shut down during the incident, and students who normally walk home were kept inside classrooms until parents signed them out, said Jayne Yudzentis, a District 58 assistant superintendent.

A police officer was inside the building during the incident and access to the front door of the school was blocked, Yudzentis said.