The armed gunman who fired shots during an hours-long standoff before being fatally shot by a SWAT team near Crystal Lake was recently critically injured in an airborne rollover crash in Woodstock.
The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office said they responded around 4:23 p.m. Thursday to the 300 block of South Briarwood Road in unincorporated Crystal Lake for a domestic dispute.
A 911 caller reported a man was yelling and fighting with family members at the residence.
Sheriff’s deputies arrived and encountered a male suspect armed with a rifle.
Sheriff’s officials said the gunman barricaded himself in the residence.
McHenry County Coroner Dr. Michael Rein identified the suspect on Friday as Darrick Lawrence, 46, of Crystal Lake.
Deputies shortly after reported shots being fired from the house by the suspect, according to police radio traffic.
Other people who were inside the home were safely evacuated as deputies surrounded the area.
Additional police resources and the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office Multi-Jurisdictional SWAT Team and Hostage Negotiation Team were called to assist.
A police command post was established nearby at the Lakewood Police Department.
The sheriff’s office issued an alert saying that heavy police activity was in the area of Briarwood Road and North Avenue due to the incident and asked people to avoid the area.
The Crystal Lake Fire Rescue Department responded and staged nearby during the standoff.
Negotiators began communicating with Lawrence while snipers were set up in the area focused on the home, according to police radio traffic.
Sheriff’s officials said the Hostage Negotiation Team was in “active conversation” with Lawrence in an effort to get him out safely.
The negotiation efforts failed and a “deputy-involved shooting” occurred, the sheriff’s office said.
A robot and a drone were eventually deployed and the SWAT team entered the residence around 7:30 p.m. after firing shots at Lawrence.
Officers entered and found Lawrence had been struck by the gunfire during the deputy-involved shooting. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Sheriff’s officials said around 9:15 p.m. that the situation was no longer active but Briarwood Road between North Avenue and Gilbert Avenue remained closed for the investigation.
The Major Investigation Assistance Team (MIAT), McHenry County Coroner’s Office and McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office are investigating in accordance with department policy and state law.
Interviews and evidence, including a review of body-worn camera footage, will be conducted by MIAT.
Last month, Lawrence was suspected of fleeing from the Crystal Lake Police Department while driving a 2012 Honda van and soon after being involved in a serious crash in Woodstock.
Crystal Lake Police Chief James Black said that officers in Crystal Lake tried to stop the car for a traffic violation on the evening of March 28.
Crystal Lake police did not engage in a pursuit and ended the attempt to stop the vehicle before it left Crystal Lake, Black said.
Woodstock Deputy Police Chief Ray Lanz said officers were at the scene of an unrelated call around 12:25 a.m. on March 29 in Woodstock when they observed the dark-colored Honda minivan drive past them at a very high rate of speed.
An officer attempted to locate the vehicle, which had traveled out of sight.
A concerned citizen flagged down the officer and told him that the minivan nearly struck his vehicle, Lanz said.
The officer responded to the last known location and was traveling on East Lake Street when the minivan passed him again at a high rate of speed.
Lanz said the officer turned around and turned onto Brown Street from Lake Street where he observed the minivan go airborne and crash at the T-intersection at Brown Street and Washburn Street.
Woodstock Fire/Rescue District Public Information Officer Alex Vucha said the Honda came to rest on its roof in a grassy field approximately 100 feet off the roadway.
It appeared the vehicle had gone airborne before coming to rest, Vucha said.
Lawrence, the driver of the Honda, was found unconscious and trapped inside the heavily damaged vehicle.
Firefighters worked to stabilize the vehicle and gain access to the man. They extricated him from the Honda minivan within 10 minutes.
Vucha said the driver was transported by ambulance to Northwestern Medicine Huntley Hospital with critical injuries.
Court records show Lawrence was driving under the influence of alcohol, for which he was charged with and issued citations for disregarding a stop sign, driving wrong way and failure to reduce speed.
Lawrence was given a court date of May 1 for a plea hearing.
The coroner’s office has not yet released the results from an autopsy conducted on Lawrence on Friday.