A man was found dead inside a building in Humboldt Park after a more than 12-hour standoff with a police SWAT team Friday.
The man had been seen waving what appeared to be guns as he climbed up and down a makeshift tower atop a building in the 4100 block of West Chicago Avenue. He also yelled racist threats and obscenities at police.
Police were called shortly before 9 a.m. and closed nearby streets while they attempted to talk to the man. After officers arrived, the man entered the building “and refused to exit the premises,” Chicago police said in a statement issued shortly before 2 a.m. Saturday.
“SWAT officers made entry into the building and discovered a male adult deceased on scene,” said police, who didn’t say what time officers found him or how he died.
Throughout the day, the man sometimes waved at people gathered below, and he used a siren to drown out what an officer was saying over a bullhorn. At times, he sat on a lawn chair on the middle level of the tower.
Several flags flew from the scaffolding, including an American flag displayed upside down and one featuring a smiley face. Neighbors said he has also flown a Nazi flag.
“I saw the white power flag up there; it’s just ridiculous,” said Abraham Simmons, 43, whose mother lives a few blocks away.
According to Simmons, the building was used for events and had recently been undergoing some construction work.
“I’m not sure who owns the building, but clearly they don’t have a problem with the flags up there; it’s like they’re invisible,” Simmons said.
Police escorted neighbors to their homes Friday evening, and one neighbor, who declined to be named, said police had been to the address before.
