JOLIET, Ill. – A Glendale Heights man was arrested Saturday for attempted first-degree murder and aggravated battery of a peace officer in Joliet.
According to Joliet Police Saturday afternoon, Francisco Alvarez, 42, is currently under police guard at Silver Cross Hospital.
According to reports officers were responding to a welfare check at a residence in the 500 block of Bevan Drive West early Saturday just before 4 a.m. Alvarez, an acquaintance staying at the residence, had called the police claiming to see an unknown person in the yard. Officers found no suspicious activity and cleared the area.
Minutes later, officers were called back to the same residence after Alvarez allegedly barricaded himself in a coat closet.
Officers determined Alvarez may have been suffering from a mental health crisis and attempted to de-escalate the situation. However, Alvarez emerged from the closet holding a large knife and stabbed a female officer in the stomach. Officers were eventually able to disarm and arrest him.
“This morning was another example of how increasingly dangerous a police officer’s job is. Our Officers had only milliseconds to respond to this life-threatening situation,” Joliet Police Chief Bill Evans said. “I commend my Officers for their attempts at de-escalating the incident and their quick reaction to this dangerous threat.”
The injured officer was treated and released from Ascension St Joseph Medical Center.