A man is facing charges after allegedly luring two Chicago firefighters inside an Auburn Gresham home and holding them at knifepoint, police said.
Melvin Jordan, 47, faces the following charges:
Two felony counts of attempted first-degree murder
Two felony counts of aggravated kidnapping
Two felony counts of aggravated unlawful restraint
One felony count of unlawful use of a weapon
Jordan is accused of luring two firefighters into his home in the 7700 block of South Marshfield Avenue Tuesday afternoon, while firefighters were on scene fighting a nearby garage fire.
While battling the flames, fire officials said a battalion chief and a lieutenant were lured inside a nearby home by a man who said he smelled gas in his basement. Once inside, the two firefighters, both about 50 years old, were locked inside the home by the man. who was armed with a knife.
The trapped firefighters were able to call for help, leading fellow firefighters and Chicago police officers to the scene.
Video captured the chaotic scene as authorities responded.
“Right inside the door, he had a knife,” one person can be heard saying in the footage.
Chicago officers responded to the scene, made entry into the home and the two firefighters were able to flee, police said.
“They just went up in there, broke the door and broke the window and just went in there and got him out,” one witness told NBC Chicago.
Jordan is scheduled to appear in bond court on Friday.
