We’ve learned much more about the 17-hour SWAT standoff near former Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s Logan Square home that ended with a man being arrested earlier this month. Among the most startling revelations: Chicago police never disclosed that two officers were struck by buckshot fired by the barricaded man, and a SWAT officer likely avoided serious injury when a bullet fired by the barricaded man struck the ballistic shield the officer was carrying during an attempt to enter the apartment.
Police recovered roughly fifty 9-millimeter cartridge casings and 40 to 50 fired shotgun shells from the man’s apartment after the standoff, officials said.
Since spring 2023, 54-year-old Patrick McDonald had lived in the second-floor apartment of a two-flat in the 3400 block of West Wrightwood Avenue, according to a detention petition. Prosecutors said he had an arrangement with his 75-year-old landlord to live rent-free in exchange for doing handy work, maintaining the property, and caring for her.
In the days leading up to the September 7 standoff, McDonald allegedly became increasingly frustrated about caring for the woman and doing his assigned tasks.
On September 4, McDonald went into the woman’s apartment and became irate over a minor matter, then took her phone and left, prosecutors said. The woman went outside to get help, but McDonald had already called 911 and reported that she had dementia and needed medical assistance. Paramedics arrived and transported her to St. Mary’s Hospital, where she was admitted.
The hospital contacted the woman’s brother, who arrived and learned what had happened. He called police, who advised him to wait until she was released from the hospital before filing a report. The next day, the brother went to the home with a police escort to retrieve some of her belongings. Officers called McDonald, who was not there, but he yelled at them over the phone and claimed ownership of the property, prosecutors said.
On September 6, upon being discharged from the hospital, the woman, her brother, and his wife went to the Shakespeare (14th) District police station to seek an order of protection but were advised to go elsewhere to obtain one, prosecutors said. They again requested a police escort to the home.
McDonald again claimed he owned the property and said the woman’s things were in his truck, prosecutors said. After retrieving items belonging to the woman, police advised McDonald multiple times that he was not to enter the woman’s apartment or contact her, according to the detention petition.
After the officers left, McDonald allegedly spat on the man, who pushed him. Both men called 911, prompting CPD to return and take the woman’s brother into custody on a misdemeanor battery charge, prosecutors said. His wife went to the police station with him, leaving the 75-year-old landlord alone in her apartment. A short time later, McDonald broke her kitchen window and entered her apartment, according to prosecutors.
The woman tried to get away, but McDonald allegedly chased her, took her cellphone, and pushed her into a chair. Prosecutors said he grabbed her hip, knowing she had recently undergone hip-replacement surgery, and allegedly told her that if she continued to struggle, she would need another hip replacement. He then left the apartment with her phone, leaving her without a way to call for help.
On September 7, the sister-in-law called police and requested a well-being check because she had been unable to reach the landlord. Two Chicago police officers arrived at 11:47 a.m. and spoke with her. She told them McDonald had taken her phone and threatened to hit her once they left.
As officers began walking up the stairwell to knock on his door, McDonald let his dog out and yelled that they needed to leave, prosecutors said. The cops retreated as McDonald allegedly announced that he was going to get his gun. The officers then saw McDonald pointing a rifle at them through a window and immediately called for backup, according to prosecutors.
Moments later, McDonald came outside and told officers to leave. When they tried to detain him, he allegedly kicked and punched them before getting back inside the building and locking the door. The officers were unable to gain access to the apartment, but they did get the landlord to safety. She was taken to a hospital for bruising to her hip and body from the earlier confrontation, according to prosecutors.
SWAT units arrived shortly before 2 p.m. and began communicating with McDonald by phone. He also made multiple 911 calls requesting an ambulance and falsely reporting that CPD officers had shot him, prosecutors said.
At 7:50 p.m., three SWAT officers carrying ballistic shields tried to enter the home. As they approached the back door, McDonald allegedly fired multiple rounds in their direction. One bullet struck an officer’s shield, forcing the officers to retreat and causing the cop’s hand to swell from the impact.
Negotiators continued trying to persuade McDonald to leave the apartment, and SWAT tried various techniques, including gas, to get him out. At one point, officers heard multiple shotgun blasts, and buckshot struck two officers and a nearby car, prosecutors said.
McDonald finally exited the building unarmed shortly before 5 a.m. on September 8 and was taken into custody.
Police recovered a rifle that McDonald tossed from his apartment early in the standoff and determined it was a 9-millimeter carbine, prosecutors said. Officers also recovered a 9-millimeter handgun with a mounted optic sight and a 12-gauge shotgun. During a search of McDonald’s apartment, police recovered roughly 50 fired 9-millimeter cartridge casings and between 40 and 50 fired shotgun shells, prosecutors said.
McDonald is charged with multiple counts of attempted first-degree murder of a peace officer, multiple counts of aggravated battery of a peace officer by discharging a firearm, multiple counts of aggravated discharge of a firearm toward a peace officer, home invasion, robbery, and additional felonies. Judge Luciano Panici Jr. granted the state’s detention petition.
McDonald was charged with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon in 2020 but pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor attempted aggravated unlawful use of a weapon charge and received probation. He also faced two violations of orders of protection that year, but both cases were dismissed.
