According to police, three men were arrested and weapons were seized after an accident in Palatine

Charges are pending against two men who, according to police, pointed handguns at people from an SUV that struck other vehicles in the Palatinate on Thursday.

Both suspects were in custody Friday while the investigation continued, Palatinate police said.

A third man, who police said attempted to attack one of the suspects and injure an officer, was also arrested.

Police received calls around 10:30 a.m. Thursday near Spruce Drive of people in a black SUV pointing guns at people. While heading to the area, police saw a Honda CRV, matching the description of the suspects’ car, traveling at a high rate of speed, turning southbound on Rand Road from Spruce, according to a news release.

The SUV continued to accelerate and also drove into oncoming traffic, police said. After crossing Dundee Road, the SUV crashed into four other cars, police said.

The 20-year-old driver of the black SUV was arrested at the scene of the accident. A 22-year-old passenger ran into a nearby store and was arrested there, police said. Both were taken to the hospital with injuries, the release said.

Two loaded handguns were recovered, according to the news release.

When police arrested the driver, 26-year-old James Howard attempted to attack the driver, the release said. According to police, Howard’s girlfriend’s car was also damaged. When Howard was arrested, a police officer intervened and was injured.

James Howard
Courtesy of the Palatinate Police

Howard, of the 1500 block of North Winslowe Drive in Palatine, was charged with aggravated assault on a police officer, aggravated resisting a police officer and obstructing a police officer.

The injured officer was treated at a hospital and released, the release said.

Two women who were in a brown GMC Tahoe that was involved in the crash were also injured and taken to the hospital.

Soft lockdowns were ordered at Palatine High School and Virginia Lake Elementary during the chaos, police said.

Four were hospitalized after a five-vehicle crash in Palatine