Gunman surrenders after hospital standoff

CHICAGO - A gunman surrendered Wednesday after spending several hours barricaded in a hospital emergency room, police said.

SWAT officers were called to the scene after the man walked into the lobby of the Jesse Brown Veterans Administration Medical Center around 1:35 a.m. and fired one round, police news affairs officer Hector Alfaro said.

The man then barricaded himself in a room in the emergency room area. The rest of the hospital was not evacuated and no injuries were reported.

Deputy Police Chief Wayne Gulliford said the suspect was taken into custody after about seven hours of negotiations. A man was led out of the building in handcuffs at about 9 a.m. local time, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Quoting an unidentified source, the Tribune reported that the gunman told people at the hospital that he had killed his parents.

Guillford refused to commend on reports that police were investigating whether there was a connection with the death of a couple who were found fatally shot Tuesday night.

The Cook County medical examiner's office had identified them as Joe Washington, 79, and his wife, Johnnie, 77, according to the Tribune.

More on: Chicago

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