33 arrested after barricade situation in Edgewater

Police arrested 33 people after a five-hour standoff with SWAT officers in the North Side Edgewater neighborhood.

About 11:20 p.m., Rogers Park District officers pulled over a vehicle for a minor traffic violation in the 6300 block of North Lakewood, police said.

During the traffic stop, people started yelling at the officers out the window of a nearby second-floor apartment where a party was taking place, police said. At the same time, shots rang out nearby, and initial reports mistakenly indicated that the shots were directed at police.

Further investigation revealed that the shots actually originated in the rear of the building and were not aimed at the officers, police said.

When police asked the apartment’s occupants to open the door, they refused, resulting in a barricade situation that ended when a SWAT team forced entry about 5 a.m., police said.

All of the apartment’s occupants – 18 women, 14 men and a juvenile girl – surrendered once the SWAT team entered and were taken into custody, according to police. Investigators are questioning them Saturday, and charges connected to the incident are pending.

A firearm and spent shell casings were also found inside the apartment, police said.

A CTA bus was parked on Devon Avenue just west of Sheridan Road overnight to provide warmth for residents who were evacuated from the apartment complex.

Darryl Ford, who lives on the ground floor of the two-story building, had guests over for the NBA Playoffs when he heard the gunshots.

“We’re just sitting there watching the [Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Clippers] game, and then all the sudden, bam bam bam bam bam,” Ford said.

At first, he thought the gunshots came from the alley, but police told him the shooter was aiming for officers, Ford said. There was a party being thrown in the unit above his at the time of the shooting and he said he could hear several people walking around when officers got to the scene.

Ford added that police initially told residents of the building to stay in their units until the situation was resolved, but they were eventually led to the warming bus.

Contributing: Ashlee Rezin, Luke Wilusz