Solicitor Says Man Chased Him With Gun: Darien Cops

DARIEN, IL — Darien Police responded in force about 5 p.m. last Wednesday after a door-to-door solicitor reported an apartment tenant on Country Lane answered the door and chased him with a gun, Police Chief Greg Thomas said Monday. It turns out the tenant had a cellphone in his hand, not a gun, the chief said.

Thomas said he did not think the solicitor was making up things, but that he mistook the phone for a gun. He said the tenant apparently did not want the man on the property. "We sent a lot of police personnel there," Thomas said.

The tenant allowed police to search his apartment for guns and officers did not find any, the chief said.

Darien requires door-to-door solicitors to get city licenses for their activities, Thomas said, but he did not have information immediately available about whether the solicitor in question had one. He said he was unaware of what the solicitor was selling.

The chief said the incident created a lot of attention, prompting a couple aldermen to ask him about it.

One nearby resident reported on Patch, "One entrance (to Country Lane) was blocked. A lot of police armed and ready to go."