St. Charles Hostage Situation Ends Peacefully

An armed man surrendered peacefully after a two-hour standoff with police this morning in a parking garage next to St. Charles City Hall.

The situation that played out in the parking garage was widely reported to have been a hostage situation. St. Charles County sheriff's deputies were the first to report to the scene a little before 10 a.m.

Around that time, there were reports of a woman screaming and shots fired in the garage. For the next two hours, a man armed with a handgun kept a woman in a car trapped in the garage as officers and at least a dozen SWAT team members arrived on the scene.

Members of the SWAT team negotiated with the armed man, eventually talking him down. He surrendered to police a little after noon.

Neither the man or woman have been identified, but Lt. Daniel Gibbons of St. Charles City police said that the man was "known" to police and that the woman held in the car is believed to be his wife.

There were unconfirmed reports that the one or both individuals were involved in a civil case that had a hearing today in the circuit courthouse across Monroe Street from the courthouse near historic Main Street St. Charles.

At a press conference after the man's surrender, Gibbons said it was unclear if a firearm actually had been discharged in the garage.

"I'm glad it came to a peaceful conclusion," Gibbons said. He described the woman as safe and not injured.