JERSEY VILLAGE, Texas – Two hostages have been released by an armed robbery suspect accused of shooting at police officers while in a hotel room in Jersey Village Friday, police said.
Jersey Village officers responded to reports of an aggravated robbery at a Polar Express Gas Station located at 8223 Jones Rd. around 2:15 a.m. Upon arrival, officers said they learned the suspect and others were seen leaving the area on foot. Police reviewed the surveillance video and said they were able to obtain a still image of the suspect, who is in his early 20s.
Officers said they began canvassing the area for that suspect and contacted the clerk at the Quality Inn located at 17550 Northwest Fwy. Police showed the clerk the still image of the suspect. The clerk recognized the suspect and told police the man was staying at the hotel and provided the room number, investigators said.
Officers went to the suspect’s room on the third floor to try to engage in a conversation with the suspect through the door but the suspect told officers that they needed to leave and that he had hostages inside the room, police said. Officers said the suspect then fired one round from inside the room and they heard glass breaking. The suspect was reportedly seen by an officer in the parking lot holding a gun through the broken window and police fired at the man. Authorities are unsure if the suspect was hit.
Police said they were able to talk to the suspect on the phone and began negotiating with him. Through those conversations, investigators said they confirmed a man and a woman hostage were inside the room. As of 10:39 a.m., both hostages have been released, according to police. Officers said the suspect, who was on some sort of substance, knew the hostages, but the extent of the relationships between the three is unclear.
The suspect had the female hostage drop his weapon out of the window, police said. Investigators said he did appear to have some self-inflicted cuts, but they were not life-threatening.
The suspect was arrested Friday afternoon and is expected to be charged with aggravated assault and aggravated robbery.
At this time, police said the identities of the suspect and hostages have not been released.
Watch the full news conference from HPD below: