Police respond to stand off with armed, suicidal man in west Belleville

The standoff in a west Belleville apartment community ended Wednesday evening when an armed and suicidal man died of a self-inflicted gunshot.

Belleville police Lt. Todd Keilbach confirmed the man died at approximately 7 p.m. The man’s name has not yet been released.

Armored Belleville police officers and SWAT team members were called to the 100 block of Lauren Circle at about 1:10 p.m. Neighboring apartment buildings, including parts of the the Westfield Manor senior apartments were evacuated.

By 4:30 p.m., Keilbach said, the only person remaining in the building was the armed subject.

Keilbach said police secured the scene and waited until the Belleville SWAT team and the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department’s tactical team arrived to enter the residence.

Police had blocked off Hillside Lane that leads to Lauren Circle. Nearby, the back half of the Westfield Manor senior apartments were evacuated, Angie Prost, community manager at the apartments said.

She said police told her there was an active scene and that residents in that half of the complex should relocate to the lobby for their safety. They’d been waiting there since before 3 p.m., she said.

FOX 2, which had a helicopter on scene, reported that a baby and two older women were seen escaping from an apartment window.

Residents have been allowed to return to their homes, Keilbach said.

This story was originally published August 21, 2019 at 3:35 PM.