Standoff at Dirksen Federal Courthouse with knife-wielding man ends after 9 hours

The lengthy standoff between law enforcement and a man armed with a knife at Chicago’s federal courthouse came to an end about 8 p.m. Tuesday, more than nine hours after it began and prompted a mandatory evacuation of the 30-story downtown tower.

A SWAT team could be seen rushing into the courthouse, and the man was later brought outside on a stretcher with a bandage on his neck. The suspect was taken to Northwest Memorial Hospital in custody. He was in good condition, the Chicago Fire Department said.

A U.S. Marshals spokesperson said aid had been rendered to the man, but it wasn’t clear why he was being hospitalized.

The incident was contained to the lobby of the courthouse, at 219 S. Dearborn, with no indication of a threat elsewhere in the building. No injuries were reported.

Instead, the spectacle captivated people inside the courthouse and out, while authorities worked to defuse the situation.

As they did so, a man could be seen inside the courthouse lobby wearing a blue button-down shirt and khaki pants. He also appeared to be wearing a backpack and seemed to be holding a knife to his throat.

The man later seemed to be making a phone call. And shortly before 7 p.m., he pressed a white sign to a window that had the words “call lawyer” written on it. A short time later, he walked up to the window again with a sign reading “Bring lawyer.” Another sign read “No body cam?” And a fourth sign said “Help.”

The incident began a little before 11 a.m., when emergency lights began to flash inside the building. U.S. Marshals told people to avoid the lobby.

People across the street in Federal Plaza could be seen gazing toward the courthouse entrance as the law enforcement presence began to grow. Traffic on South Dearborn stopped flowing, and a drone began to hover near the courthouse entrance.

“Male in the lobby with a knife to his throat threatening suicide,” a dispatcher called out over police radio as the situation unfolded.

“Someone is threatening to harm themself,” Chicago Fire Department spokesperson Larry Merritt told the Chicago Sun-Times.

Still, U.S. Marshals spokesperson Brady McCarron said there was “no danger to [the] public.”

Law enforcement could also be seen searching the suspect’s silver Chevy Impala parked near West Jackson and South Dearborn. It posed no threat, according to the marshals.

It wasn’t until a little after 2 p.m. — more than three hours after the incident began — that court officials told people in the building’s second-floor cafeteria how to safely exit the building. A short time later, they declared the evacuation mandatory.

A Chicago Sun-Times reporter was told the evacuation would be carried out floor by floor.

Officials led people onto elevators on the north and south ends of the building, through exits on the east side of the lobby, and then toward State Street.

Authorities could also be seen guiding groups of people away from the building.