HAMBERS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) — Authorities shot and killed a man armed with an AR-style weapon after he held his ex-wife and their 3-year-old child hostage during a chase, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said Tuesday.
Sheriff’s deputies said it began with a phone call from the family member of the ex-wife shortly before 6 a.m.
The relative reported that the suspect kidnapped the 29-year-old woman and the toddler from a home in the 9400 block of Desert Flower near Highway 249 in the Fallbrook area.
According to officials, the 39-year-old suspect is the child’s father and he and the woman were in a common-law relationship.
The man forced his way into the home, then fired shots, before taking off with the pair, officials said.
Update 2: suspect has been confirmed deceased on-scene. I’m enroute to the scene. https://t.co/mkuKytWBNf
— Ed Gonzalez (@SheriffEd_HCSO) April 30, 2024
By 9:15 a.m., the car they were in was spotted in Fort Bend County, and the chase started when the suspect refused to stop. In fact, Chambers County Sheriff Brian Hawthorne said the Rosenberg Police Department was the agency that ultimately notified them where the suspect was headed with the hostages.
At one point, the driver made it eastbound to Highway 146 at Highway 99.
A Harris County Sheriff’s Office investigator was on the phone with the man, but he continued to refuse to surrender, officials said, adding that he spoke of “suicide by police.”
Authorities ended up barricading the area of Plantation Drive at Highway 565 to block the suspect.
It’s believed he was heading in that direction to take his other children, but they were in school at the time.
Once deputies stopped him, he reached for his gun, and that’s when two snipers with Chambers County’s Special Response Team shot and killed him, Gonzalez said.
The woman and child were unharmed. No members of law enforcement were injured either.
Watch: SkyEye coverage as scene unfolded in Chambers County
According to Gonzalez, there was a history of abuse in the relationship, noting that the suspect had previously threatened to take the woman to Mexico and kill her.
The couple had recently split, and she was staying with relatives to escape him.
It’s believed no shots were fired during the chase.
You can reach the National Domestic Violence hotline 24/7 at 1-800-799-SAFE. You can also chat with someone live or text “START” to 88788.
The Houston Area Women’s Center also has a 24/7 hotline available by calling 713-528-2121 or chat on their website.
