A crisis negotiation team was called after deputies responding to a well-being check encountered an armed man who was threatening “suicide by cop” near Crystal Lake late Wednesday evening.
The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office responded around 11:05 p.m. Wednesday to the 7200 block of Manor Road in unincorporated Crystal Lake for a well-being check call.
A man called to report his brother, who has a history of mental illness, sent concerning text messages, according to police radio traffic.
Sheriff’s deputies arrived and reported encountering the subject wearing a bulletproof vest while claiming he was armed with a gun.
The man initially told deputies he had put the gun down but he was threatening “suicide by cop.”
Deputies reported the man retrieved the gun and was holding it, threatening to harm himself inside the home.
The sheriff’s office issued an alert around 11:30 p.m. warning of the heavy police presence and asking people to avoid the area.
Deputies shut down Manor Road from Rose Street to State Street while setting up a perimeter.
The Crystal Lake Police Department and the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office Crisis Negotiation Team were called to assist.
While a SWAT vehicle responded and was used by the crisis negotiation team, the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office Multi-Jurisdictional SWAT Team did not respond.
Officers and deputies evacuated some of the homes surrounding the scene.
Deputies worked to negotiate with the subject and the situation eventually ended peacefully around 2:30 a.m. Thursday, police radio traffic indicated.
The Crystal Lake Fire Rescue Department responded and an ambulance transported the man to Northwestern Medicine Hospital in McHenry for an evaluation and treatment.
The sheriff’s office has not said whether any charges could be filed in the incident.