A man was arrested after briefly holding his children hostage at gunpoint this afternoon in a semitrailer stopped at a Southwest Side intersection, officials said.
The incident started as a domestic dispute in southwest suburban Bedford Park around 1:30 p.m., with the man taking two children and driving into Chicago as police pursued him, authorities said.
A woman called police at 1:22 p.m. from the 6500 block of 73rd Street in the suburb, according to Bedford Park police. The woman said that her two small children and two dogs were being held by the woman’s husband who refused to release them, police said.
They were being held in the cab of the semi-truck, the woman said. Police said that when officers responded the man tried to hit the officers with the vehicle.
A short chase ended around 2:15 p.m. in the 4400 block of South Cicero Avenue, officials said. The man handed the younger child over to authorities, then finally gave up the other child and the dogs after police continued to negotiate with him. The man then walked out of the vehicle and surrendered to police. Charges are pending.
No injuries were reported.
Traffic was halted near the intersection and the northbound and southbound ramps on the Stevenson Expressway at Cicero were shut down. State police began opening the ramps around 3:05 p.m.
SWAT and hostage negotiators were called to the scene, as were Chicago Fire Department personnel.
At one point, police asked news media helicopters to back away because the noise was making it hard for negotiators to talk with the man.
