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3 Held After Six-Hour Standoff In Uptown

UPDATED 12/06/11 12:31 p.m.

CHICAGO (CBS) -- CTA trains and buses are running again between Lakeview and Edgewater, after police and federal agents ended a nearly six-hour standoff in Uptown.

Three people were in police custody as of Tuesday morning. They had been holed up in a building at 4639 N. Broadway since about 4:15 p.m.

LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio's John Waelti reports

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The barricade situation began after Chicago Police officer working with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Illinois State Police recognized and arrested a wanted offender. The three men inside the building reportedly were associates of the man police apprehended.

The Uptown Update blog reports police asked its administrators not to post updates about the standoff in real time, so that those inside the building would not be clued in on what officers were doing outside.

But the blog published a breakdown of the chain of events after the standoff ended.

Around 6:45 p.m., a SWAT team truck backed down busy the 4600 block of North Broadway. SWAT officers and sharpshooters were also seen posted on the roofs of buildings just to the east in the 4600 block of North Winthrop Avenue, the blog reported.

A reader who lives at 4639 N. Broadway – a retail building with two stores of apartments above – told Uptown Update that he took shelter in his hallway with all the lights out, as police called for a suspect with a bullhorn. Officers also shined a spotlight into the windows, Uptown Update reported.

Another reader told the blog that officers said through their megaphone, "Come out immediately. This is the Chicago Police Department. We are at 4639 N. Broadway. We are not leaving. Call 911 or come out of the building immediately."

During the standoff, Broadway was closed between Lawrence and Wilson avenues, and the Chicago Transit Authority suspended service on the Red Line between the Berwyn and Addison stations. Red Line trains only ran in two sections -- between Howard and Berwyn; and between Addison and 95th, according to the CTA.

That made for frustration among commuters.

"I'm used to just kind of getting on the train, and spacing out, and getting off, and getting around in between on the bus; I usually just take the train around," said CTA rider Sheila Brown, adding that the reroute was frustrating because "it's probably going to take a good hour, hour and a half to get home."

"I do care how much time it will take me, but this is a very unique experience, I would say," said CTA rider Pengjon Shen. "I think everybody is working out fine here, so why not wait until the order is restored?"

A source said told the Sun-Times Media Wire the man who was arrested before the standoff began was a member of the Conservative Vice Lords street gang and lived in the Broadway building, while the other three were members of the Latin Disciples from South Bend, Ind.

No charges had been issued against the suspects as of early Tuesday morning.

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