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Suspect shot, killed by HPD officers following active hostage situation
FOX 26 Reporter Tiffany Justice has the latest after a suspect was shot and killed in Splendora after an active hostage situation.
HOUSTON - One man is dead following an officer-involved shooting in Splendora on Tuesday afternoon, officials said.
According to Executive Chief Matt Slinkard with the Houston Police Department, the shooting occurred on at the Shell gas station, located on the 14000 block of U.S. Highway 59.
Slinkard said the whole incident was believed to have begun on Monday as a potential domestic violence incident where an ex-boyfriend held an ex-girlfriend at gunpoint. The ex-girlfriend was able to separate from him the same day.
The incident continued into Tuesday where the ex-boyfriend, 52, tried to make contact with the ex-girlfriend again, but she refused, officials said.
That's when, according to Slinkard, the suspect, who is an African American male, went to the ex-girlfriend's place of business in Houston and kidnaped one of the ex-girlfriend's co-workers at gunpoint in an effort to get in contact with the ex-girlfriend.
The suspect later made contact with the ex-girlfriend saying he had one of her co-workers and she was being held hostage.
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Slinkard said the ex-girlfriend made a deal with the suspect, who police believe was armed based on the information received, to exchange herself for her co-worker.
They later met at a location on Lyons Avenue, Slinkard said. And that's when the ex-boyfriend kidnaped his ex-girlfriend and let the co-worker go. She was said to be safe and unharmed.
Slinkard said the incident continued for several hours as officers were looking for the suspect's vehicle.
Officers were later able to locate the suspect's vehicle at the Shell gas station and the ex-girlfriend and suspect went inside.
Slinkard said they believe the ex-girlfriend convinced the ex-boyfriend to stop and let her go to the bathroom, and he agreed.
After they exited the inside of the store, the ex-girlfriend was sitting in the driver's side of the vehicle, while the suspect was sitting in the passenger side, officers blocked the suspect vehicle from leaving the area.
SWAT officers, who were arriving at the scene, were giving verbal commands to get the ex-girlfriend out of the vehicle safely, Slinkard said.
As that was occurring, officers who were watching the suspect, saw he was reaching for what they believe was a weapon. That's when, Slinkard said, four officers, one Houston Police Department Sergeant and three Houston Police Officers, fired their weapons at the suspect when he ignored verbal commands.
Officials stated the suspect was rendered first aid but was pronounced dead at the scene.
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Slinkard said it's unclear if the suspect was able to fire his weapon at any point, but didn't believe that he fired.
The officers involved in the incident were uninjured and later identified as Sergeant S. Duvall and Officers D. Inocencio, J. Luna, and A. Lopez, with the North Belt Division and were sworn in on March 2009, July 2018, May 2017, and March 2017, respectively.
Officials said the ex-girlfriend was unharmed in the incident. No other injuries, other than the suspect, were reported.
Police added they did recover a semi-automatic pistol on the scene as part of the investigation.
The officers involved in the shooting will be on administrative leave as an internal investigation continues.