2 Chicago firefighters escape man’s basement spread with gasoline
Sun-Times file
A man lured two firefighters into his home on the South Side and locked them in the basement where the floor was covered with gasoline, according to police.
Other firefighters smashed a window to reach the two, a battalion chief and a lieutenant. They were not injured and the man was taken into custody. Two knives and a loaded gun were recovered, police said.
The man had been convicted of murdering a rap producer in Austin nearly 20 years ago, according to police.
The chief and lieutenant responded to a car fire in the garage of the man’s home in the 7700 block of South Marshfield Avenue in Auburn Gresham at about noon Tuesday, according to a police report.
The resident, 47, then told the two that he smelled gas in his basement and led them downstairs to check it out, police said.
The man then pointed a large knife at them and locked the door, police said. The basement appeared to be filled with “hoses,” the report said, and gasoline covered the floor.
Other firefighters broke a window, jumped in and grabbed the two while other crews broke through the front door found the man barricaded in a bathroom with two knives and an empty gun holster.
The man said he “wanted to harm himself” and firefighters broke down the door and took him into custody, the report said.
Police found a loaded gun in “plain view” inside the home, according to the report.
The man was taken to Little Company of Mary Hospital to be checked. No charges have been announced.