The Dirksen U.S. Courthouse was evacuated and remained on lockdown Tuesday as FBI and other law enforcement personnel continued to talk to a man who walked into the courthouse armed with a knife and threatened to hurt himself.
The incident, which was still ongoing as of 4:45 p.m., began shortly before 11 a.m. when the man entered the lobby at 219 S. Dearborn St. and was stopped by security. Sources told the Tribune at one point he demanded to speak to the FBI.
Courthouse security cleared the lobby and ordered the rest of the building, which houses the U.S. District, U.S. Bankruptcy and 7th Circuit Appeals courts, locked down. As negotiators were brought in to talk to the man, Chicago police and Department of Homeland Security officers blocked off traffic on Dearborn Street, Jackson Boulevard, and Adams and Clark.
A Chicago police SWAT van sat parked at Jackson and Dearborn, next to an armored military-style truck as curious passersby snapped photos and took video of the scene.
Court officials said the incident “involves a single individual” and that the public was not in danger.
“Law enforcement negotiators are on scene. All individuals in the courthouse are directed to stay away from the lobby while law enforcement manage the scene,” court officials said in a statement early Tuesday afternoon.
Initially, people who were already in the 27-story building were allowed to continue activities, with free movement allowed from the second floor and above.
Authorities instructed people in the building via an intercom to remain where they were and avoid the lobby, U.S. attorney’s office spokesperson Joseph Fitzpatrick said.
Access to other facilities, including the Kluczynski Federal Building, was also restricted.
Shortly after 2:30 p.m., however, authorities began going floor to floor telling people they had to evacuate.
Dozens of lawyers, courthouse workers and other people who had business in the courthouse could be seen leaving through the rear lobby doors and walking east to State Street.
As of 4:45 p.m., the man could still be seen inside the courthouse lobby. He was wearing a backpack and at times had what appeared to be a knife held up to his throat.
Officers in tactical gear were stacked outside the front door of the courthouse as negotiations continued.