SWAT Standoff With Man On Apartment Roof Ends In Arrest

HOUSTON, TX -- A standoff on the roof of an apartment complex that lasted more than three hours, ended peacefully Friday evening.

The incident began at about 1:30 p.m. as a family disturbance in the 9000 block of Sterlingshire.

While police were on the way, the call was upgraded to an assault in progress.

"It turned out that the man...had taken two of his baby momma's hostage, for lack of a better word, inside one of the apartments," said HPDS Capt. Larry Baimbridge.

The man held the women at knife-point, but one of them was able to escape and call police, Baimbridge said.

As police arrived, the man climbed onto the roof of the two-story apartment unit, and was seen with at least two knives.

"The suspect initially made statements that he wanted to die," Baimbridge said.

The man also threatened to kill himself by impaling himself on a wrought iron fence, if officer approached him.

Officers covered the fence to prevent him from jumping, and after three hours of negotiating, SWAT went onto the roof and tased the man, and brought him down without any injury.

"The goal was to get him down safely," Baimbridge said.

The man is in police custody.

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