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West Chester police arrest gunman; schools placed on lockdown

PHOTOS: View photos from the standoff and arrest

By Matt Cunningham

Staff Writer

Friday, September 05, 2008

WEST CHESTER TWP. — Police carried a grandmother out of her home following a two-hour standoff with a gunman who was hiding inside.

Two Lakota schools were on lockdown after Robert Lillard, 18, of Blossom Street in West Chester Twp., showed up at 4308 Yacht Haven Way at about 1:40 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 4, and attempted to rob at gunpoint Curtis Mitchell, 21, of Forest Park as he pulled his car into the driveway, according to police.

Mitchell exited his car and fled, but not before Lillard allegedly chased after him and fired several shots before darting into the Yacht Haven Way house, where he hid in the basement, police said.

Lillard was charged with aggravated robbery, discharge of a firearm and felonious assault. No one was injured as a result of the incident, police said.

The Yacht Haven Way home's resident, Chris North, said he was at home with his grandmother at the time of the incident.

"I was washing clothes and heard three shots," he said. "I saw this unfamiliar car; next thing I know, my brother and Darnell (Sharp, a neighbor) came into the house."

North said he, his brother and Sharp came out of the house when police arrived.

"It's scary," he said of the incident. "I know it can happen anywhere now."

Police officers carried North's grandmother, who had trouble walking, out of the house and cleared the home at 3:57 p.m. after West Chester police Capt. Joel Herzog said the suspect surrendered.

Lakota Local Schools spokeswoman Laura Kursman said Endeavor Elementary and Lakota West Freshman School went on an exterior lockdown until just after 3 p.m. when police said it was safe to dismiss students. Parents of students whose buses could not be re-routed were asked to pick up their children.

Karen Patterson, who lives down the street, said she was "shocked" by the incident. "This kind of stuff going on in neighborhoods, I'm very disappointed."

Staff writer Lindsey Hilty contributed to this report.

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