Arlington Hts. cop shot responding to domestic incident
An Arlington Heights police officer was shot in the neck as a dramatic hostage situation unfolded Thursday evening on the village’s north side — which ended when the shooter was killed by gunfire and the hostage escaped unharmed.
Authorities said the officer, a 20-year veteran of the force, was shot about 7 p.m. at a townhouse on the 1900 block of Windham Court, northwest of Palatine and Arlington Heights roads.
The cop, one of several officers responding to a domestic situation, was the first one in the house, and was shot by a 41-year-old man, according to Police Cmdr. Andrew Whowell. It was unknown Thursday night what prompted the domestic situation.
Eric Anderson, 41, was pronounced dead at Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights, a Cook County medical examiner’s office spokeswoman said Friday morning.
She added the autopsy for Anderson was scheduled for 8:30 a. m. this morning.
A person who answered the phone early Friday at the home associated with Anderson in Niles hung up immediately.
The hostage has not been identified by early Friday morning.
The injured officer was pulled out of the house to safety by his colleagues, Whowell said. He was taken to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, where he was listed in critical condition.
He went into surgery before 10 p.m., and his condition was stabilized, Whowell said.
The officer was set to undergo a second surgery late Thursday, according to Arlington Heights Village President Thomas Hayes, but Hayes also indicated that the officer may be OK.
“It looks like good news at this point,” Hayes said. He added the officer is not married and does not have children.
A group of Arlington Heights police officers were in the hospital’s emergency room with the injured officer on Thursday night and later moved to the surgery waiting room.
As that was going on, the hostage situation remained active at the townhouse and the neighborhood remained on lockdown until about 10:30 p.m., when a SWAT team entered the home and fired three shots — at least one of which struck the 41-year-old man, Whowell said.
The female hostage was unharmed, but was taken to a hospital for evaluation.
Police indicated Anderson may have a criminal record.
During the police response, Palatine Road was closed in all directions between Arlington Heights Road and Kennicott Drive, and police were restricting access to the immediate neighborhood.
A number of area police departments were called in to assist the Arlington Heights Police Department on scene.
“It’s certainly unfortunate for everyone involved,” Hayes said. “I think the police handled it very professionally and as well as could be expected. I’m glad we could get the situation resolved with no other injures to innocent people.”
A news conference was scheduled at the Arlington Heights Police Department at 9 a.m. Friday.
Daily Herald staff writer Eric Peterson contributed to this report.