Man in Custody After Shots Fired Outside Chicago Federal Building, No One Hurt

Chicago police took a man into custody early Tuesday after shots were fired outside the Kluczynski Federal Building in the Loop, the downtown district that holds the city's main federal offices and courthouses.

No one was injured. The Department of Homeland Security said the shooting caused only minor damage to federal property, and a gun was recovered at the scene. Charges against the man were still pending on Tuesday, and police had not released his name.

What officials said

Homeland Security said a Federal Protective Service officer reported an active shooter on federal property near the John C. Kluczynski Federal Building on the morning of October 20. Protective Service personnel and Chicago police officers responded, and local police took the man into custody.

Reports of the gunfire came in at about 4:45 a.m., according to Chicago television station ABC7. Officers were later seen searching the pavement outside the building in the 200 block of South Dearborn Street for bullet casings.

A spokesperson for the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois said there was no active threat, and the Dirksen Federal Courthouse, which shares the same federal plaza, remained open.

The scene in the Loop

Television crews at the scene found the courtyard in front of the building taped off and at least three evidence markers on the ground near the entrance to a parking garage. Investigators worked around a vehicle and a bag, though it was not clear whether the bag was part of the investigation. Traffic kept moving on Clark Street, with police vehicles taking up the first two lanes.

The plaza holds several federal sites in one block: the Kluczynski Federal Building at 230 South Dearborn Street, the Dirksen Courthouse, a post office and General Services Administration offices. ABC7 reported at least two bullet holes in the side of an office building across the street, above the sidewalk.

What is still not known

Officials have not said what led to the shooting, how many shots were fired, or whether the man aimed at the building or at anyone in particular. Homeland Security called it an active and ongoing investigation and said further information would be limited until the inquiry ends.

For now, the facts confirmed by officials are narrow: shots were fired outside a federal building before dawn, one man is in custody, a gun was recovered, nobody was hurt, and the federal courts in the Loop opened as usual on Tuesday morning.