Not a Safe Place to Be

GUNSHOTS AND ARSON MARKED THE HIGHLIGHT of the day in a Chicago, Illinois, apartment building Friday night. It all began around 10 pm during a domestic dispute when a man refused to let his woman friend leave her apartment, detaining her with a handgun.

hostage a chicagoist

Chicagoist.com

The police arrived, set up a protective barricade at the apartment and began a period of lengthy negotiations. After about 2-½ hours, the woman tried to escape by running out the front door. While fleeing, the man shot her, critically injuring her. She then bumped into a policeman causing him to discharge his weapon and shoot himself in the leg.

Other officers returned fire on the man who then ran back into the apartment and jumped through a closed window, cutting himself and running down the fire escape where he broke into a 2nd-floor apartment and started a fire before finally being captured. The fire spread to two floors and went to two alarms, destroying six units on two floors. By the time it was over 3 hours after it all began, 20 people were left homeless.

WFLD-TV has this video report that sums it up:

Both the policeman and the victim were hospitalized in critical condition. The criminal, who turns out to have a lengthy record, is also hospitalized for his injuries from going through the window. He has been arrested and charged with attempted first-degree murder, aggravated criminal sexual assault, aggravated arson and aggravated battery with a firearm.

The Chicago Tribune is carrying the STORY HERE.