4900 W. Walton Street: Hostages, Barricade, SWAT Team Deployed

4909 W. Walton Street, based on Google Earth. Photo: Google Earth.

A home on the 4900 block of West Walton Street, in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood, was surrounded by police, after a suspect took several hostages and barricaded himself inside the home.

The exact address given by police was 4909 W. Walton Street.

The harrowing scene unfolded some time after 1 a.m. And the story caught our attention when the SWAT Team arrived.

As officers scrambled to set up command posts, the hostage taker's mother showed up to assist the police.

Based on information obtained by Chicago News Report, a male suspect and at least three children were barricaded in the home. Somehow, maybe through negotiations, the children; a 6-year-old, a 5 or 6-month-old baby, and another child (age unknown), were allowed to leave the home.

When we last counted, there were at least 3 ambulances called to the West Walton address; presumably, one for each child.

At 2:34 a.m., after it was announced that SWAT would be entering the home, officers got into position.

At 2:43 a.m., officers said they were about to “manually” open the front door. The commanding officer asked everyone on the scene to lower their weapons and remain shielded.

Based on the information we have gathered, no one was seriously hurt.

The children were taken to West Suburban Hospital in Oak Park, and treated for minor injuries.

Police say the man used a two-by-four to barricade the front door.