IL_SV1000S
06-21-2007, 06:26 PM
Link: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070621/ap_on_re_us/bank_deputy_shot;_ylt=AgFMDx1HGCy2fcYN_.IQV6rMWM0F
Shooting suspect takes hostages in bank
By DAVID MERCER, Associated Press Writer
ARCOLA, Ill. - A suspect in the shooting of a sheriff's deputy holed up in a bank with five hostages Thursday, police said. By late afternoon, four had been released.
Authorities had the bank in this tiny Illinois farm community surrounded and were trying to communicate with the suspect. The last hostage was a male bank employee, said Illinois State Police Sgt. Bill Emery.
"Negotiators are trained to talk. If it takes all day, all night, that's what we're going to do," Emery said.
The situation started midmorning when a state trooper pulled over a vehicle about 12 miles north of Arcola on Interstate 57 for having windows that were too dark. The trooper sensed something was not right and called for a drug-sniffing dog. Then, "the driver put it in gear and took off," Emery said.
The trooper did not pursue the vehicle because it is state police policy to give chase only if there has been a violent crime, Emery said.
About an hour later, the two men in the vehicle robbed a home and stole a van about 7 miles from where they were first pulled over, Emery said. The first vehicle was left at the home.
Soon after, Chief Deputy Tommy Martin pulled the van over. He was shot in the face and torso as he walked up to the vehicle, Emery said.
The injured deputy was able to radio in what happened and tell authorities where the van had driven off. Authorities pursued the fleeing vehicle in a chase that reached speeds over 100 mph, Emery said. The suspects continued firing as police chased them. When the driver lost control of the vehicle as it careened over railroad tracks, the suspects abandoned it on foot.
One, a 23-year-old man, was captured but not charged. The other fled into the First Mid-Illinois Bank and Trust, Emery said.
Authorities don't know if it was the driver or the passenger who shot Martin. The deputy was at a hospital in Urbana, where he was listed in critical but stable condition, Emery said.
It was not immediately clear how the hostages were released, but authorities said all were unharmed.
A helicopter hovered over the bank Thursday afternoon, and dozens of police officers from the sheriff's office, the State Police, and nearby communities guarded the scene.
Workers at a hardware store across from the bank locked their doors and took cover when the standoff began around 10:45 a.m., bookkeeper Debra McGrew said.
She said police and the sheriff's vehicles were parked all around the bank.
"They're just trying to get the situation contained," she said. "They're trying to take care of it the best they can."
Arcola, about 150 miles south of Chicago, has about 2,600 residents. It is home to an Old Order Amish settlement and horse-drawn buggies are a common sight.
"These things happen in big cities, not a little town like Arcola," said McGrew. "You don't think it will happen in your town."
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Note: This incident took place about 20 miles from Champaign, IL, where three police officers were shot by a homeless man on June 7th. Incidentally, the Champaign Police Department is one of several local agencies responding to this hostage situation. Negotiations are ongoing as of the moment of this posting. As a brief update to the post below referring to that incident, the good news is that the most seriously injured of the three officers was released from the hospital on the 13th and is recovering at home.
Update: Local news (www.news-gazette.com) is now reporting that Chief Deputy Martin is in "stable but critical" condition.
-Woof
Shooting suspect takes hostages in bank
By DAVID MERCER, Associated Press Writer
ARCOLA, Ill. - A suspect in the shooting of a sheriff's deputy holed up in a bank with five hostages Thursday, police said. By late afternoon, four had been released.
Authorities had the bank in this tiny Illinois farm community surrounded and were trying to communicate with the suspect. The last hostage was a male bank employee, said Illinois State Police Sgt. Bill Emery.
"Negotiators are trained to talk. If it takes all day, all night, that's what we're going to do," Emery said.
The situation started midmorning when a state trooper pulled over a vehicle about 12 miles north of Arcola on Interstate 57 for having windows that were too dark. The trooper sensed something was not right and called for a drug-sniffing dog. Then, "the driver put it in gear and took off," Emery said.
The trooper did not pursue the vehicle because it is state police policy to give chase only if there has been a violent crime, Emery said.
About an hour later, the two men in the vehicle robbed a home and stole a van about 7 miles from where they were first pulled over, Emery said. The first vehicle was left at the home.
Soon after, Chief Deputy Tommy Martin pulled the van over. He was shot in the face and torso as he walked up to the vehicle, Emery said.
The injured deputy was able to radio in what happened and tell authorities where the van had driven off. Authorities pursued the fleeing vehicle in a chase that reached speeds over 100 mph, Emery said. The suspects continued firing as police chased them. When the driver lost control of the vehicle as it careened over railroad tracks, the suspects abandoned it on foot.
One, a 23-year-old man, was captured but not charged. The other fled into the First Mid-Illinois Bank and Trust, Emery said.
Authorities don't know if it was the driver or the passenger who shot Martin. The deputy was at a hospital in Urbana, where he was listed in critical but stable condition, Emery said.
It was not immediately clear how the hostages were released, but authorities said all were unharmed.
A helicopter hovered over the bank Thursday afternoon, and dozens of police officers from the sheriff's office, the State Police, and nearby communities guarded the scene.
Workers at a hardware store across from the bank locked their doors and took cover when the standoff began around 10:45 a.m., bookkeeper Debra McGrew said.
She said police and the sheriff's vehicles were parked all around the bank.
"They're just trying to get the situation contained," she said. "They're trying to take care of it the best they can."
Arcola, about 150 miles south of Chicago, has about 2,600 residents. It is home to an Old Order Amish settlement and horse-drawn buggies are a common sight.
"These things happen in big cities, not a little town like Arcola," said McGrew. "You don't think it will happen in your town."
__________________________________________________ _____________
Note: This incident took place about 20 miles from Champaign, IL, where three police officers were shot by a homeless man on June 7th. Incidentally, the Champaign Police Department is one of several local agencies responding to this hostage situation. Negotiations are ongoing as of the moment of this posting. As a brief update to the post below referring to that incident, the good news is that the most seriously injured of the three officers was released from the hospital on the 13th and is recovering at home.
Update: Local news (www.news-gazette.com) is now reporting that Chief Deputy Martin is in "stable but critical" condition.
-Woof