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Neighbors recall SWAT standoff that led to house fire
A family and neighbors are left devastated after a home burned down following a SWAT standoff with the man who barricaded himself inside and threatened officials not to enter. FOX 26's Damali Keith speaks to neighbors who are still shaken up from the events.
SPRING, TX - A family and their neighbors are left devastated today after investigators say a domestic assault spiraled into a SWAT standoff yesterday as a home burned down around a believed gunman who was barricaded inside.
Residents in the Spring neighborhood say their heart aches for the family containing a husband, wife, and little girl, who just days ago called the burned-out scene of the crime their home. Today, it’s just a shell of what once was and is not only a sad reminder of the tragedy that unfolded there, it’s also a total loss.
"Look at this. I couldn’t believe it," one resident told me while showing a video of an armed SWAT team taking over her front porch.
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In fact, doorbell and home cameras captured the unthinkable in the nice, new Spring community.
"Alright if anything happens you just f***ing run," one deputy is heard telling two children on their doorbell cam while escorting them from their home to safety. Several families were forced to evacuate and run for cover as a believed gunman, their neighbor, barricaded himself inside his home and then set it on fire.
"It was scary because you don’t know if bullets were going to be flying. When I saw the fire it was getting high, and I was just like oh my God all these homes are about to catch on fire," says a neighbor who lives three homes away.
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VIDEO: Pablo Patino seen climbing out of house while it's on fire after standoff in Spring
A neighbor captured video of Pablo Patino Bustos, 28, climbing out of the roof of his own house he set on fire after an hours-long standoff in Spring, Texas. Authorities said the standoff began after the ex-wife of Bustos went to the home to pick up some items with them present as she thought he might be there. As they were clearing the house, they came into contact with Bustos who said he had a gun and officers pulled back and set up a perimeter. (Video Courtesy of Warren Garrett/Neighbor)
It all started the day after Christmas when 28-year-old Pablo Patino Bustos was arrested for allegedly assaulting his wife. He got out of jail on bond and on Tuesday, detectives say Patino was caught on a doorbell camera setting fire to his in-law's home, where his wife and young daughter had been staying, at 3:30 a.m. with six people were asleep inside.
Investigators say Patino then hit his wife with his car as she escaped the burning house. Two days later, Patino’s wife, escorted by deputies, went to her house to retrieve belongings. Patino was inside and according to law enforcement, he threatened to kill anyone who didn’t leave, leading to the stand-off.
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"Pablo think about your daughter, think about your daughter", a negotiator could be heard saying on a loudspeaker as he and a swarm of armed officers surrounded the house. After hours of trying to convince him to come out of the burning home, he finally did. Patino climbed out of a window and over the garage to waiting deputies.
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Loved ones, who helped Patino’s wife salvage what she could from the burned home, say they're thankful the more than a week of attacks are over. The family’s next-door neighbor of two years says Patino seemed very intelligent and worked from home in the Computer Technology field but recently told him "It was getting boring. It was getting lonely at home. So he had to go out to the different coffee shops or Starbucks," explains neighbor Nestor Sandoval.
Residents to the immediate right and left of Patino’s house say their homes suffered minor damage.
Patino is charged with Felony Arson, Violation of a Protective Order, and Assault of a Family Member.