Man accused of kidnapping ex and coworker shot to death by HPD in Splendora, police say

SPLENDORA, Texas (KTRK) -- A man was shot to death by four Houston police officers after a domestic violence incident that began on Monday escalated into the man kidnapping his ex-girlfriend's coworker on Tuesday.

Police said it all began Monday, when a woman was held hostage at gunpoint by her ex-boyfriend. At some point, the woman was able to leave and refused to talk to her ex.

On Tuesday, with hopes of getting in contact with his ex, the suspect went to the woman's place of work on Benmar Street and kidnapped one of her coworkers at gunpoint, police said.

The suspect contacted his former partner to let her know he was holding her coworker hostage. The ex-girlfriend then reportedly made a deal with him to exchange herself for her coworker.

The man and woman met at a location on Lyons Avenue, where the man let her coworker go and took his ex-girlfriend.

It's believed that the woman knew officers were looking for her and asked her ex-boyfriend to pull over at a Shell gas station in the 14700 block of the Eastex Freeway to use the restroom. They also knew he had the potential for violence based on 911 calls. A dispatcher said the suspect was going to tell the caller where he was, but if he sees police he is going to shoot the employee and shoot himself.

As the couple left the gas station, the woman got into the driver's side, and the suspect got into the passenger side. Officers arrived at the scene, spotted the vehicle, and blocked them.

In a matter of seconds, as officers tried to get the woman out of the vehicle, they noticed the suspect was reaching for what they believed was a weapon. Four officers fired their weapons at the suspect when he ignored their commands.

"We do know preliminarily that we were getting reports that this suspect was violent, was armed, and had made threats to kill her or end his life. That this was going to end badly," Capt. Matt Slinkard with HPD said. "All of that information, officers were processing it as they approached and realized they could not let this suspect leave with this hostage victim.

The woman was safely rescued.

The identities of the man and women were not revealed.

This is an ongoing investigation.

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