Police: Gunman, hostage die in 23-hour standoff at Chicago apartment building

CHICAGO (AP) A gunman and a female hostage were killed during a 23-hour standoff on the city's South Side, police said Friday. <br/><br/>The gunman, 21-year-old Lance Johnson, apparently shot the

Friday, November 24th 2006, 9:29 am

By: News On 6

CHICAGO (AP) A gunman and a female hostage were killed during a 23-hour standoff on the city's South Side, police said Friday.

The gunman, 21-year-old Lance Johnson, apparently shot the hostage and himself, police said.

``At no time did the Chicago Police Department fire a weapon,'' 1st Deputy Superintendent Dana Starks said.

Johnson and the victim, who were neighbors, were the only people found in the apartment, despite reports from Johnson and the victim that a second hostage was also inside, Starks said.

Police SWAT team members entered the apartment just after 1 a.m. Friday after officers heard a shot fired, Starks said.

Johnson and his 22-year-old hostage were pronounced dead at a hospital. Police have not yet released the victim's identity.

Relatives identified her as Tasha Cooks, 22, a nursing home worker.

``We've just been crying all day,'' Donzell McKinzie, Cooks' brother, said after the standoff ended.

Cooks used the apartment's phone to call her great-grandmother earlier in the day, family members said. Around 8 p.m., she told them she was inside and beating beaten.

``That was the last time I heard ... her and she said she didn't want to talk anymore,'' McKinzie, 23, said.

Johnson's sister pleaded with him to cooperate with authorities Thursday afternoon. Later, frustrated relatives and neighbors began shouting at police to do more to end the standoff.