Sep 23, 2009 6:49 pm US/Central
Hospital Standoff Ends After Nearly 8 Hours
Offender Is Allegedly Suspected In Murder Of Parents
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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A man suspected in the murder of his parents was in a standoff with police early Wednesday after firing a shot at the Jesse Brown VA Hospital.
CBS
An armed man who barricaded himself inside a near West Side hospital overnight finally surrendered.
The man, whom police have not yet identified, is now in police custody, being questioned in the Harrison Area detective division, 3151 W. Harrison St.
As CBS 2's Susan Carlson reports, police negotiated for nearly eight hours with the man, who walked into the hospital and fired a shot into the ceiling in the lobby. SWAT teams were on the scene the whole time. The suspect finally surrendered at about 9 a.m. and was taken into custody.
VIDEO: A Dramatic Look At The Scene
SLIDESHOW: VA Hospital Standoff
Negotiations were not face-to-face, Harrison Area Deputy Police Chief Wayne Gulliford said. SWAT officers negotiated with the man through the doors of an ER exam room where he had barricaded himself.
"They talked him out, gave him directions. He followed their directions and was peacefully taken into custody," said Harrison Area Deputy Police Chief Wayne Gulliford.
Bobby Freeman, an admission clerk at the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center at 820 S. Damen Ave., told the STNG Wire that the man walked into the facility about 1:20 a.m. and stood behind a patient he was admitting into the hospital.
The man asked for the location of the washroom and told Freeman he wanted to see a doctor, Freeman said.
The man went into the washroom, came out and walked into the emergency room, where he fired a shot into the ceiling and pointed a gun to his head, Freeman said.
Freeman said the man said, "I'm not going to shoot, I just want some help."
The man allegedly told a medical technician he just killed his parents, Freeman related. Police would not confirm that information.
Afterward, he holed himself up in the emergency room and turned the gun on himself, as SWAT Team officers and hostage negotiators gathered inside and around the perimeter of the hospital.
"He was in an examination room in the ER. Negotiators were close enough that they could talk to him," Gulliford said. "It's unknown what was the key turning point, but he ultimately decided it was in his best interest to surrender."
The man was believed to be suicidal and not interested in hurting anyone at the hospital.
Possible Connection To Murder Of Elderly Couple?
On Tuesday night, police found an elderly couple fatally shot in their South Lawndale neighborhood home.
A law enforcement source told the STNG Wire the man in the VA hospital is the son of the elderly couple found murdered. He is being called a "person of interest" in the killings, the source said.
Police have not issued official confirmation of the source's claims, and have not officially connected the two incidents.
At 9:15 p.m. Tuesday, a man flagged down police and told officers his parents were not answering the door of their home at 2222 S. Kildare Ave., according to police News Affairs Officer Ronald Gaines, who was citing preliminary information.
When officers gained entry into the home, the couple was found dead in the kitchen. The man suffered multiple gunshot wounds and her husband suffered a single gunshot wound to the head, Gaines said.
A Wednesday autopsy ruled both deaths homicides.
The couple was identified Joe Washington, 79, and Johnnie, 77.
Neighbors who gathered outside the Washingtons' home on Wednesday said an adult son lived there with the couple.
"They were good parents," said neighbor Steven Thompson, 48, who said he grew up with the family. "They were beautiful people. They didn't deserve this."
A neighbor also told CBS 2's Suzanne Le Mignot the couple's son was "going off the deep end."
Neighbors describe the couple as pillars in the community.
"I had known him for 35, 45 years, his whole family, they're very nice people," said Green Ransom, a family friend.
Ransom says Mr. Washington's son lived with the couple. Ransom says the father and son were very close.
"They worked together, they went fishing, they had boats they had everything, they remodeled the house together," Ransom said.
Ransom says whenever Mr. Washington would take his boat out and go fishing, he often brought back fish for his neighbors.
"Kept around the house clean. They was very good neighbors for about 50 years," Ransom said.
The Washingtons loved to garden. Neighbors say they were always planting flowers and vegetables. Freshly picked tomatoes were still on the couple's patio table.
Neighbor Terrance Allen says Mr. Washington had such pride in his community.
"The man, was, like I said, in his late 70's and he used to come on the next block. He got property on the next block. Pick up the grass, pick up all the paper and this is 6:00, 7:30 in the morning. Every day. If he was on another property and he sees it's dirty, he'd go pick it up," Allen said.
The couple was dead on the scene, and the Cook County Medical Examiner's office responded about 11 p.m.
Harrison Area detectives are investigating the murders. Meanwhile, charges are pending against the man involved in the VA hospital standoff.
Police said they are still treating the two incidents as separate cases.
CBS 2's Susan Carlson and Suzanne Le Mignot , the Associated Press and the STNG Wire contributed to this report.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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