The suspect at the center of a SWAT standoff in the Galleria area overnight fired a rifle multiple times, hitting his neighbor, according to police.
The standoff happened at an apartment complex in the 2600 block of Yorktown Street near Westheimer Road.
Houston police said the suspect was undergoing surgery after he shot himself in the stomach before crawling out of his apartment.
At the scene, news crews saw the suspect being loaded into an ambulance just before 5:30 a.m. Monday. That’s when the hourslong standoff came to an end.
HPD said officers first arrived at the scene just before 2 a.m. because the suspect was reportedly yelling and causing a disturbance at the complex.
When officers tried to approach, the suspect went back inside his apartment. Police said the standoff began around 2:45 a.m.
Inside the apartment, HPD said the suspect fired a rifle four times. One of the bullets hit a woman in the foot inside the apartment across from his.
That’s when officers grabbed their shields and went into the apartment where the woman was hurt so they could get her to an ambulance, according to police.
At some point, the suspect came out onto a balcony without a weapon and was talking directly with officers, though he never said why he wouldn’t surrender. HPD said negotiators talked to him for two to three hours.
Eventually, police said the suspect went back inside his apartment and fired another shot from a rifle that went through his front door and into another unit. News crews at the scene heard that shot just after 5 a.m.
Officers had already evacuated the surrounding apartments, so fortunately, no one was hurt.
Police said after that shot was fired, the suspect shot himself in the stomach area, just below his sternum, with a pistol. That’s when he came crawling out of his unit.
Investigators described the suspect’s condition as “very critical.”
“It’s a shame that the female across the way suffered that gunshot wound, but we’re very lucky that that’s the only person who got injured out here,” Lt. Rick Besselman said. “Firing outside of his apartment with a rifle is extremely dangerous. It’s unfortunate that somebody did get shot, but it could have been worse.”
HPD said the man is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, though additional charges could be filed.
No SWAT officers fired their weapons and no officers were hurt, according to HPD.
