Teen arrested after opening fire inside Sharpstown apartment, sparking SWAT standoff
A SWAT standoff in southwest Houston ended with a 17-year-old in custody after police say he opened fire inside an apartment. A mother jumped from a balcony, and two girls were rescued from a window.
A 17-year-old boy is in custody after opening fire inside a Sharpstown apartment Thursday night, sparking a SWAT standoff that ended with several rescues but no serious injuries.
The Houston Police Department commanders responded to a shooting Thursday night at the Harbor Town apartment complex near Beechnut Street in southwest Houston around 8:30 p.m.
When officers arrived, they found a woman on the ground outside who had jumped from a second-floor balcony to escape the gunfire. Investigators said the woman (the mother of two girls still inside the apartment) was taken to the hospital for injuries she suffered from the fall.
Officers then pulled back and set up a perimeter around the complex. Houston Fire Department crews brought in a ladder and assisted in rescuing two women from a second-floor window.
Police said as officers approached the apartment door and knocked, the teen inside fired at them. A nine-year veteran officer returned fire, but the suspect was not hit.
SWAT and K-9 units were called to the scene, and after a brief standoff, negotiators convinced the 17-year-old to surrender peacefully. He was taken by ambulance to be treated for a cut on his hand.
No officers were injured during the exchange of gunfire.
At this time, investigators do not know what led the teen to start shooting inside the apartment. The case remains under investigation.
