what happened in Arcola, Illinois yesterday? what was the outcome?

Answer 1

basically two guys robbed a family took their van. then they shot a police officer in the face and torso (he is still in the hospital). the two guys went to arcola, their van broke down then one guy ran into the bank. the other guy arrested. the one in the bank was holdiong people hostage till they finally convinced him out.

Answer 2

Following a nearly daylong hostage crisis at an Arcola bank Thursday, the suspect voluntarily surrendered.

A law officer was shot, and people were robbed at gunpoint north of this Douglas County community earlier in the day, leading to an armed standoff at Arcola First Mid-Illinois Bank.

The hostage situation lasted more than seven hours and involved a suspect, pursued by law officers during an interstate high-speed chase, who ran into the bank and brandished a gun, according to authorities.

At 6:35 p.m., the suspect voluntarily surrendered, releasing unharmed bank Manager Brad Pullen, who remained in the bank after four other hostages were released. The suspect's name was not released Thursday night.

"The subject was taken into custody without incident," said Illinois State Police Sgt. Bill Emery during a news conference shortly after the incident ended. "He agreed voluntarily to give himself up. The negotiator told him what door to go out, and the hostage was safe."

Chief Deputy Tom Martin of the Douglas County Sheriff's Office was listed in critical but stable condition Thursday night after undergoing surgery at Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana.

Martin, a former state trooper, was shot twice when he pulled over a van matching the description of a stolen vehicle from a report of an armed robbery at 10:38 a.m. at a rural Camargo residence in Douglas County. Three people at the home were bound but uninjured.

"He has tolerated it very well," Douglas County Sheriff Charlie McGrew said of Martin's surgery. "Every day an officer puts on his uniform, he faces this kind of threat."

Arcola Police Chief Mike Phillips said, "Our thoughts are with the victims and their families tonight."

Though severely wounded, Martin radioed that he was hurt and needed medical assistance. With the radio report of an officer down, law enforcement vehicles converged on the area and spotted the stolen van on U.S. 45 about a mile north of Hayes-Villa Grove Road.

The ensuing pursuit reached speeds up to 100 mph and turned onto Interstate 57, heading south.

The suspect vehicle then exited the interstate at the Arcola exit for Illinois 133, where it raced west toward the Canadian National Railroad tracks, according to police. That is where the chase ended as officers converged at the U.S. 45-Illinois 133 intersection and captured one of the two suspects.

"The driver of the van lost control in gravel and spun out," Emery said.

Armed officers then converged on the van and captured Yusef Kareem Brown, 23, of Chicago, who was reported as the driver of the van. The other suspect ran toward the bank, and the hostage situation started about 11 a.m.

Officers cordoned off much of the west portion of Arcola, with special tactics teams coming from the Illinois State Police and Champaign County as the standoff stretched throughout the day.

Phillips expressed appreciation for the mutual aid coming from 15 law enforcement agencies in East Central Illinois plus ambulance services, fire departments and the American Red Cross.

"I have five full-time officers, and what happened today is a prime example of how law enforcement does work together," Phillips said.

"You can't really say how grateful you are for all the help with something like this," McGrew said.

The whole incident started at 9:45 a.m. Thursday along I-57 at milepost 216 when an Illinois state trooper pulled over a vehicle for having tinted windows. A K-9 unit was called to the scene and alerted when checking on the vehicle with the driver and passenger inside.

Before the suspects were ordered out of the car, the driver shifted into gear and took off south on the interstate, exiting at Tuscola before the robbery and shooting occurred.

Brown and the other suspect were taken to Douglas County Jail. Charges from the incidents Thursday are pending with the Douglas County State's Attorney's Office as the investigation continues.

"We are investigating this case from the traffic stop onward and why the suspects did what they did," said Emery, who declined to answer many questions with evidence and information still being gathered, "And why they ran for some reason with the first stop."

After one of the longest days in his law enforcement career, McGrew said the case will come to the right end.

"We will do all we can to bring justice to this," he said.