Barricaded Man, 40 Gives Himself Up To Joliet Police

JOLIET, IL — Joliet police announced that Saturday morning's standoff ended peacefully and 40-year-old Karl Cooks was captured shortly before 7 a.m. Cooks was booked into the Will County Jail around 10 a.m. on three charges of aggravated domestic battery, unlawful use of a weapon by a convicted felon, having a defaced gun, unlawful possession of ammunition and obstructing a peace officer.

Police responded to the house in the 1300 block of Kinsey Avenue, near South Midland, at 4:56 a.m. for a domestic call. Cooks refused to come outside and barricaded himself in the house for nearly two hours, according to Joliet police.

Joliet police said that Cooks attacked a woman and her two teenage children.

"Cooks entered the residence while in possession of a firearm at which time he entered an upstairs bedroom and struck the female adult in the face," Joliet police said.

When a 13-year-old girl intervened, "Cooks struck her multiple times about the face and body," police reported. Then, a 17-year-old girl "tried to intervene and Cooks struck her multiple times as well. A 2-year-old female in the residence was unharmed. The female adult was able to flee the residence and call 911," reports show.

Joliet police say that Cooks refused to come out of the house and that he shut the door with the three juveniles, 17, 13 and 2 years old, all still inside.

"The Joliet Police Special Operations Squad and crisis negotiation team were summoned to the scene," authorities announced. "Crisis negotiators were able to make contact with Cooks by phone, and he agreed to exit the home. Cooks surrendered peacefully to officers at approximately 6:47 a.m.," police said.

A gun was found inside the house, police revealed.