Two Arrested After Standoff on Oakland Avenue

Written and reported by Jeff Rumage

After a four-hour standoff that shut down Oakland Avenue, a male and a female involved in a domestic violence incident have surrendered themselves to Shorewood police.

Shorewood police say they received a 911 call about a domestic disturbance in an apartment above Harleys for Men at 3565 N. Oakland Ave. at 2:45 p.m. Friday. Police say they heard screaming on the other end of the telephone line.

Once they arrived at the apartment, police heard people inside the unit, but they didn't answer the door. The male resident called police shortly after 7 p.m. to ask if police were looking for him – despite hours of officers knocking on the door and asking him to come out of the apartment.

The male and female surrendered peacefully, and police say they will be interrogating the two and conducting a lengthy investigation.

About a dozen law enforcement vehicles — including a SWAT team vehicle and deputies wearing bulletproof vests — responded to the incident Friday afternoon. A robot used to diffuse explosive devices was also on the scene.  Shorewood police also called on the Suburban Mutual Aid Response Team for assistance.

During a press conference, Shorewood Police Chief David Banaszynski said he believes the man and the woman have been involved in at least one other domestic violence incident.

Tomas Norkus, who lives on the second floor of the building, said he heard a couple above him on the third floor shouting and arguing. He said the couple has a history of fighting and that police have been called to their apartment before.

After several hours of Oakland Avenue being closed, Shorewood police say they planned to open up Oakland Avenue shortly after 7:30 p.m. The street was closed from Edgewood Avenue to Capitol Avenue, and police were using Shorewood High School as a staging area and command center.