According to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, a missing teen girl has been recovered and a wanted man has been arrested following an hours-long SWAT standoff at a north Houston motel Friday afternoon.
Law enforcement was called to the Mustang Inn at 3800 Tidwell Road for a welfare check at 9 a.m. on Friday because they suspected a runaway 16-year-old girl was present.
They discovered her in a room with a 20-year-old guy who had open felony charges for aggravated assault and possession of a controlled substance, according to the sheriff’s office.
He barricaded himself inside, and investigators initially suspected a hostage situation, which proved to be false.
The SWAT team employed various technologies, including a robot, drone, and tear gas, to apprehend the culprit.
Officials said he was hiding in the motel attic, but when they sprayed tear gas at 4 p.m., he emerged. He was then spotted spitting and vomiting before being placed on a stretcher and transported to the hospital as a precaution.
Houston Police confirmed to KPRC 2 that investigators are currently looking into a possible human trafficking link to the SWAT scene.
At the end of the standoff, a K9 cop bit a deputy’s lower leg. The deputy had to be rushed to the hospital but is expected to be fine.
The suspect’s identity has not been revealed.
