Woman, 4-year-old held hostage at south suburban motel, suspect now in custody

DOLTON - An hours-long hostage situation was resolved without any serious injuries Thursday after a man refused to release his son and the boy’s mother from a motel in south suburban Dolton.

The situation unfolded about 1:16 p.m. when officers responded to a report of a “suspicious incident” at the Prestige Inn and Suites, 1335 E. Sibley Blvd., Dolton Police Chief Ernest Mobley said at a news conference Thursday night.

At approximately 8:43 p.m., a flash bang was heard and an ambulance headed toward the scene.

Officers have been on scene containing the crowd.

Everyone was evacuated from the Prestige Inn and Suites, and for a two block radius, businesses were also evacuated.

A 33-year-old man barricaded himself in a room and was holding a woman and a child hostage. It was later confirmed the 4-year-old was the man's child and the 25-year-old woman was the mother of the child.

Sources also say that the man was calling the front desk asking why police were still outside of the motel.

“He just wanted to be left alone but he wouldn’t release the child or the mother so we wasn’t going anywhere to make sure that they were safe,” Dolton police said.

The South Suburban Emergency Response Team was called in, and negotiators tried to talk the man into releasing his family.

The SWAT team breached the door about 8:45 p.m. and was able to get the three out of the room, Mobley said.

The suspect is now in custody and the situation ended peacefully.

The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this story.