BAYTOWN, Texas – A SWAT standoff ended in gunfire after a man was shot inside his Baytown home on Sunday.
Police said officers responded to a domestic dispute at a home in Old Baytown near the intersection of Cypress and Cedar around 5:30 a.m.
Baytown’s Assistant Police Chief Roger Clifford said it started as an argument between 20-year old Amel Garza and his girlfriend.
“He came home very late and apparently his girlfriend wasn’t happy with the fact that he was out all night,” said Chief Clifford. “They got into a verbal altercation and later that turned into a violent altercation.”
No one is sure who called police, but when they arrived, shots were reportedly fired in the officers’ direction.
No one was hit, but a bullet struck an armored SWAT vehicle.
Authorities said a child, young adult and Garza’s girlfriend were inside the house, but managed to escape at some point.
Police put a perimeter up in the area and issued a shelter-in-place for nearby residents during the standoff.
Tony Hinojosa walked out to feel the weather and noticed that his neighborhood was swarming with law enforcement.
“When I see all the police out here in the yard and I was like, ‘wow something bad is happening,’” recalled Hinojosa.
Police said at one point more gunfire was exchanged and Garza was hit in the stomach. He eventually surrendered.
“He did walk out of the house on his own power and got down on the ground and allowed officers to come and take him into custody,” said Chief Clifford.
Garza was airlifted to Memorial Hermann Hospital in unknown condition.
It wasn’t immediately known what charges would be filed.
