Joliet Police Standoff With Rifle-Wielding Man Ends Without Gunfire

JOLIET, IL — A standoff Thursday morning with a rifle-wielding man in a downtown parking deck ended without injury

The man is going through a divorce, a source told Patch, and was armed with a rifle equipped with a sniper scope. He was on the third deck of the four-story garage opposite Harrah's Casino. The man was taken out of the parking deck on a gurney and transported to Presence St. Joseph Medical Center via ambulance.

The man had not been identified by police Thursday morning.

The man drove into the deck in a silver Ford Focus and called his wife, who then called police, said Deputy Chief Al Roechner.

Joliet, Cass and Clinton streets were blocked off during the incident. The nearby Will County Courthouse was evacuated and put on a soft lockdown as a precaution. Two ambulances and a SWAT team assembled near the parking deck, and two K-9 units were deployed inside the garage.

Photo: Joseph Hosey | Patch