Police: Man playing Russian roulette calls VA crisis line during SWAT standoff in southwest Houston

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Monday, December 10, 2018
Suicidal man calls VA hotline during SWAT standoff in southwest Houston
Suicidal man calls VA hotline during SWAT standoff in southwest Houston

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A standoff ended in southwest Houston after a SWAT negotiator talked a suicidal man out of his apartment.

Police said the VA crisis hotline received a call just before 2 a.m. from a man in his 60s threatening suicide at an apartment complex on Beverly Hill near Richmond Avenue.

Authorities arrived and evacuated some nearby apartments.

They tried to get the man to come out, but he refused. Police said they were getting information relayed to them from the crisis hotline.

The person at the VA crisis hotline heard clicking on the other end of the call and said the man was playing Russian roulette.

The man eventually gave up peacefully hours later and is in custody.