Barricade situation near Antioch ends safely

A seven-hour long barricade situation involving a suicidal man came to a safe resolution in unincorporated Lake County near Antioch Friday night.

The 26-year-old man had barricaded himself inside his house following an argument with a family member on the 26000 block of Windsor Dalgaard Jr. Road, a secluded residential block north of Route 173 near the Chain O’ Lakes. By 8 p.m., the man walked out of the house and surrendered peacefully, said Chief Brian Keller of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

During the course of the afternoon, the man was seen roaming throughout the first floor of the house — sometimes carrying a .330 hunting rifle — as authorities attempted to negotiate a peaceful resolution.

“He made comments about how he wanted to go out by ‘suicide by cop’ and ‘go out in a blaze,’” Keller said. “But it ended very peacefully. In the end, he chuckled and said, ‘Sorry I had to put you guys through this.’”

He was taken to Vista East Hospital in Waukegan for mental evaluation. Charges are pending and under review by the Lake County State’s Attorneys Office, Keller said.

There were no hostages; two family members had voluntarily left the house about 12:30 p.m. when they called police to report the domestic situation.

No injuries were reported.

Keller said disruptions to the public were limited over the course of the standoff, because the man’s house was located at the end of dead end street, and properties are spread out on large lots.

“From a public safety aspect, we could not have been more blessed with that type of arrangement,” he said.

The barricade situation follows a similar incident last Friday when a 28-year-old man was threatening to kill himself and waving a bolt-action rifle outside of his home in Warren Township. That standoff with police ended after about 40 minutes of negotiations.