Chatham, Illinois – Around 12:30 p.m., on December 28, 2019, the Chatham Police Department, Illinois State and Chatham Police responded to 300 block of Wagon Wheel in Chatham, Illinois.
A suspect told the police that he shot his mother in the head and poured gasoline around the house. The suspect also threatened to shoot any officer who comes near the house. The suspect also told police that he has a sister in the residence and also threatened to harm her.
At this time, police are currently evacuating people out of the area. If you are near the residence, the police is asking you to evacuate.
At this time, we can’t confirm if the suspect’s mother has in fact been shot.
As of 1:34 p.m. the suspect is still in the residence.
Stay tuned to this post – we will only update this post with information that will not harm any officers who are currently on this hostage situation.
Update at 2:19 p.m. – An all clear has been given. Police went inside the house to find it empty. The mother and family members are reported safe.
Springfield Police located the mother and siblings at a Springfield Location and they confirmed that everyone was ok.
This was a confirmed swating incident which is the action or practice of making a prank call to emergency services in an attempt to bring about the dispatch of a large number of armed police officers to a particular address.