Charges are pending against 33 people who were barricaded in an Edgewater apartment with an alleged gunman early Saturday morning after he fired shots that police initially believed were aimed at them.
SWAT officers were dispatched to the North Side Edgewater neighborhood early Saturday, after a man fired shots and then barricaded himself inside an apartment for five hours. Although several people were inside the apartment with the man, police are not calling it a hostage situation.
The man, whose age was not known, fired several shots in the direction of officers at about 1:05 a.m. in the 6300 block of North Lakewood, according to preliminary information from police. It was later determined that the police were not the intended target.
The man then barricaded himself inside a second-floor apartment, prompting a SWAT team response, police said.
The barricade situation ended peacefully by 6:45 a.m., police said.
No injuries were reported.
A CTA bus was parked on Devon Avenue just west of Sheridan Road to provide warmth for residents who were evacuated from the apartment complex.
Local
Darryl Ford, who lives on the ground floor of the two-story building, had guests over for the NBA Playoffs when he heard the gunshots.
“We’re just sitting there watching the game, and then all the sudden, bam bam bam bam bam,” Ford said.
There was a party being thrown in the unit above his at the time of the shooting and he said he could hear several people walking around when officers got to the scene.
Ford added that police initially told residents of the building to stay in their units until the situation was resolved, but they were eventually led to the warming bus.
The No. 36 Broadway, No. 151 Sheridan and No. 155 Devon buses were all rerouted in the area.
