Hostage Down

While most of us were enjoying Thanksgiving dinner with our families, Chicago police were dealing with a hostage situation that did not end well.

The standoff began early Thanksgiving morning after an armed man took what was then believed to be two young women hostage inside their apartment building. The gunman opened fire on authorities who responded to the scene.
—Andrew Wang, Chicago Tribune, November 24, 2006:

Chicago police held off launching a SWAT raid and chose to negotiate instead. Nearly 24 hours later, however, the hostage taker forced their hand:

The impasse ended when police heard a shot and sent a SWAT team into the apartment. They threw a concussion granade, known as a “flash-bang,” in an attempt to distract the gunman as they rushed in.

“When we hear one gunshot, then at that moment we make entry,” said Starks. “As we went in, we used a flash-bang. There was a lot of noise going off,” which might have masked the gunman’s second shot.

The hostage and the gunman were both dead.

There was some criticism of the police for not taking action sooner, but I can’t see how they could have known a raid would be necessary. From what I’ve read so far, it sounds like the Chicago police did everything exactly right given what they knew at the time.

You wouldn’t think so from watching movies and television, but for a hostage negotiation to end in the death of a hostage is incredibly unusual. Hostage takers may kill people before the police hostage team gets there, but it’s very rare for a hostage to die once the negotiations have begun. This is probably the first time it’s happened in Chicago in many years. Hostage negotiation almost always works.

I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that the hostage taker had serious mental problems. Most hostage takers calm down as time passes, and they slowly conclude that their best choice is to surrender. An emotionally disturbed person, however, is more likely to become agitated as time goes by, especially if the hostage situation disrupts their medication schedule.

Update: Police are saying the hostage taker had a history of medical illness and hadn’t talken his medication.