Jersey Village standoff ends after nearly 9 hours after robbery suspect takes 2 hostages
JERSEY VILLAGE, Texas (KTRK) -- A hotel hostage-taking in Jersey Village is over late Friday morning after a robbery suspect barricaded himself from law enforcement for nearly nine hours.
The armed suspect gave himself up after Houston police SWAT officers, who were called to assist Jersey Village police, secured his surrender. In all, two hostages - a man released about midway through the ordeal, and a woman who was safe at the end - were taken and not harmed.
By 11 a.m., Eyewitness News saw SWAT officers pack up and roll out of the Quality Inn at 17550 Northwest Freeway. Hotel guests on the third floor who were evacuated during the standoff were also seen returning to the property.
Jersey Village police say this all began at about 2:15 a.m., when officers responded to the Polar Express Gas Station at 8223 Jones Rd. for an aggravated robbery.
When officers arrived, they saw the suspect run away, but were able to get a still image of him from surveillance video.
While searching the area for him, police contacted the clerk at the Quality Inn and showed that person the photo.
The clerk recognized the man, told police he was staying at the hotel, and gave them his room number.
Officers went to the room and talked to him through a closed door. Authorities say he told them he had hostages inside and that the police needed to leave.
According to officials, that suspect then fired off one shot inside the room and officers heard glass breaking.
WATCH: SWAT leader on 'team effort' that safely ended 9-hour hostage-taking
Police say they later saw the suspect holding a gun through the broken window.
That's when a Jersey Village officer in the parking lot fired one shot at the suspect. It's not immediately known if the suspect was hit.
Officers were able to begin negotiations with the suspect over the phone, and it's through those conversations that they learned he was holding the two people.
Over the course of the standoff, HPD said the suspect had the woman toss a firearm out of the broken window, which police signified as progress in the negotiations. The suspect also wanted to speak with his parents, who arrived at the hotel in the middle of the standoff.
In the end, the suspect surrendered and was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening laceration wounds. According to Houston police, the suspect, identified only as a man in his 20s, faces felony assault and robbery charges. He also has an outstanding warrant out of Brazoria County.
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