7-Hour Round Lake Standoff Ends After Man Sprayed With Fire Hose

ROUND LAKE, IL — Flash bangs, pepper spray and a fire hose were among the tactics used by authorities Tuesday to force a Round Lake Beach man to surrender, ending a seven-hour standoff in Round Lake, and lockdowns at nearby schools, according to several reports. The Round Lake Police Department was called around 3 a.m. Tuesday to a reported disturbance at an apartment near Macgillis Drive and Nippersink Avenue, according to Lake and McHenry County Scanner.

According to Round Lake police, a 23-year-old woman who lives in the building told police a man, who also lives there, came into her bedroom and demanded she give back items he believed she'd stolen, and also threatened to hit her, the news report said. The woman told police the man had weapons. Police found the man inside his apartment, in addition to a semi-automatic gun, according to the news report. The man's girlfriend told officers there was another man in the bedroom with a weapon, Lake and McHenry County Scanner reported.

According to police, 23-year-old Fernando Lopez Poblete, from Round Lake Beach, refused to leave the locked bedroom and went into an attic and hid. Police said the Northern Illinois Police Alarm System (NIPAS) arrived with dozens of officers and a SWAT team, forcing Poblete to surrender when a fire engine hose sprayed water into the attic, according to Lake and McHenry County Scanner. Poblete did not have a weapon, police said, but was wanted on a warrant for failure to appear on DUI charges, and faces new charges in Tuesday's incident.