Domestic Dispute Standoff Ends with Man Taken into Police Custody

Two Plainfield District 202 schools were locked down for more than two hours Tuesday after a man holed himself up inside his Plainfield Township home following a domestic dispute with his wife, police said.

The standoff ended without incident at about 2:15 p.m. when the man was taken into custody by Will County sheriff's deputies, department spokeswoman Kathy Hoffmeyer said.

No information was released on the identity of the couple involved, the nature of the domestic dispute or if charges will be filed.

The situation began around 11 a.m., when Will County police received a call about a domestic dispute involving a husband and wife at a home in the 14000 block of Lakeridge in the Lakewood Falls subdivision, Hoffmeyer said.

By the time deputies arrived, the wife had left the house but police were unable to make contact with the husband, she said. Accounts indicated the man had a gun and may have been suicidal.

As a precaution, police ordered that Creekside Elementary School at 13909 S. Budler Road and Lakewood Falls Elementary School at 14050 S. Budler Road be placed on "hard" lockdown, meaning students had to remain inside their classrooms, Plainfield School District 202 spokesman Tom Hernandez said.

Morning kindergarten students being released for the day were returned to their school buildings, and afternoon kindergarten classes were canceled, Hernandez said. No one was allowed to enter or exit the buildings, he added.

Parents were alerted to the situation via e-mail and automated phone messages, he said, and were urged to stay away from the schools until the case was resolved. Students were served lunch inside their classrooms.

Hernandez said he knew no details of the domestic disturbance other than it resulted in police being stationed in the schools' parking lots, a SWAT team assigned to the area, and Lakewood Falls Drive and Budler Road closed to traffic.

An officer also was stationed at Taylor Road, which is the main road into the subdivision, he said.

Neighbors said they saw a bomb truck and special operations vehicles. Several helicopters flew overhead.