SWAT Team Stand-Off Ends at Texas Church

Houston Police
AP File Photo/David Phillip
Lana Shadwick
Houston, TX

A SWAT team was called to a Baytown, Texas church.

A television station reported that law enforcement authorities followed a man from a Target store to the parking lot of the Second Baptist Church in Baytown.

ABC13 News in Houston reported that the police officers said the man began to fire shots into the air.

The man was reported to have been acting suspiciously and harassing customers at the store.

The Houston Chronicle reported that he was arrested about 4:30 p.m.

Officers and the SWAT team negotiated with the man for an hour before taking him into custody, according to Fox26 News in Houston.

The Baytown Police Department released the following statement:

Police were able to locate the suspect’s vehicle  driving north on North Main Street where the officer attempted to conduct a traffic stop in the 5000 block of North Main where the driver came to a stop in the middle of the roadway, yet failed to follow the officers commands to exit his vehicle. The subject produced a handgun and began to point it at his own head and then drove away from the traffic stop traveling north on North Main St. The officer then alerted Baytown dispatch of the actions of the driver and continued following the subject who then pulled into a church parking lot in the 6200 block of North Main Street.

The subject came to a stop in the parking lot where other officers arrived and positioned themselves for safety while attempting to communicate with the driver. At one point the subject discharged his handgun numerous times into the ground, ultimately barricading himself inside his own vehicle. Baytown Special Weapons and Tactics along with Baytown Negotiators were called to the scene at which time the negotiators were able to establish communications with the 25 year old Baytown man and persuaded him to surrender without further incident.

The subject was later transported to a hospital for treatment and observation. No charges have been filed on the subject at this time and this incident is still being investigated. The staff members of the church sheltered in place during the incident and were not in danger while this event took place.

Lana Shadwick is a contributing writer and legal analyst for Breitbart Texas. She has served as a prosecutor and associate judge in Texas. Follow her on Twitter @LanaShadwick2.

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