Park Forest, IL-(ENEWSPF)- A standoff on Park Street that lasted more than four hours found a peaceful resolution, police reported Wednesday night. In the early evening of Wednesday, May 24, police reported the presence of an “armed offender” and asked the public to avoid the area of “Park Street between Krotiak Street and Westwood Drive.”
Police reported at 10:08 PM, “The situation has been brought to a resolution. One person is in custody and there is no longer a threat to the public.”
There were police on hand from several jurisdictions including Tinley Park, Lynwood, Chicago Heights, Hazel Crest, and Lansing. These were just the vehicles ENEWSPF saw parked on Park Street north of Westwood Drive.
The South Suburban Emergency Response Team (SSERT) was on the scene. That includes the jurisdictions already mentioned and more. SSERT brings expertise from surrounding towns. It is “a multi-agency SWAT team that operates in the Fifth and Sixth Districts of Cook County, Illinois,” according to the Village website. This also brought to the scene additional hardware and vehicles that individual towns could not afford alone.
One witness reported hearing from an officer that police were planning to use “tear gas.” This was before 10 PM. An officer at the scene not authorized to speak on behalf of the department told eNews Park Forest that he did hear “pops”. However, police on Facebook stressed that no one fired gunshots at this location.
Police Stress No Shots Fired
“The sounds being reported in comments were not gunshots!” Park Forest police said in a statement on social media.
ENEWSPF observed trucks and vehicles from SSERT and the jurisdictions listed above.
A firefighter/paramedic from Park Forest was also waiting patiently at the scene on Park Street just south of the water plant.
We expect a statement regarding the entire event. The amount of time on the scene suggests that police exercised extreme caution and patience.
We are grateful a peaceful resolution.
This story was revised at 10:40 PM to reflect the 10:08 PM update from Park Forest Police that a suspect was in custody and there was no further threat to the public.
