FARMER CITY - A Farmer City man surrendered to police without incident Friday night, ending a standoff at his home that started about 12 hours earlier with a report of domestic violence.

Kevin G. Hite was taken into custody about 8 p.m. by Illinois State Police and transferred to the DeWitt County jail in Clinton, where he was held in lieu of posting $10,000, state police said. Hite was charged with one felony count of aggravated discharge of a firearm, but police did not disclose why.

Officials say Friday night the investigation is continuing.

Farmer City Police Chief Larry Woliung said police were called to the scene of a domestic dispute at 8:11 a.m. in the 1000 block of East Allen Street.

With guns drawn, police set up a perimeter outside the home after Hite reportedly barricaded himself inside.

"Our officers responded and we secured the scene," Woliung said. "A female and two children were removed from the home. It was not a hostage situation."

Officers from the DeWitt County Sheriff's Department, Illinois Department of Natural Resources and Illinois State Police were called to the scene.

For 12 hours, police tried unsuccessfully to communicate with Hite in person and by phone, even resorting to blaring obnoxious noises at the house.

Ambulance personnel from Farmer City and Gibson City stood by at a command post set up at the Days Inn Hotel on Illinois 54. The hotel is about half a block from the house.

The residents of about 20 nearby homes were evacuated during the standoff, and Allen, Bullard and Richardson streets and Illinois 54 from U.S. 150 to Interstate 74 were closed to traffic.

"Officers knocked on our door and told us we had less than five minutes to get out," said neighbor Ernie Hamilton. "So, my wife and I grabbed our dog and our cat and got out of there. We've been riding around in our SUV all day."

Illinois State Police spokesman Joe Dittmer said he could not speculate on why the situation took nearly 12 hours to resolve.

"There were no injuries to the suspect or anyone else involved in this situation," Dittmer said. "This investigation is still ongoing. It's nice that it is resolved and that it is resolved without any injuries."

Dittmer thanked the residents of Farmer City and the assisting agencies who participated with the incident.

"We appreciate the patience of the citizens of Farmer City who were inconvenienced," Dittmer said. "But we wanted to make sure that it was resolved peacefully without anyone getting hurt."