Man charged after holding 6 month old hostage in SWAT standoff
HOUSTON - The man involved in the hours-long standoff with SWAT on Thursday and holding a baby hostage at a Houston apartment has been charged.
Eric Keith Williams, 29, has been charged with endangering a child in a lengthy standoff with SWAT officers in the 800 block of Skyline Vista in Fourth Ward.
Police say the incident began as a family violence call around 7:45 a.m. on Thursday where officials say a woman at the apartment told officers there had been a disturbance between her and her boyfriend.
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When the officers arrived, police asked if there were any weapons involved and the man inside the apartment answered and claimed he had multiple weapons.
The woman was able to be moved away from the apartment for safety, reports say and the man then came out of the apartment onto the front porch with a baby that was said to be his.
According to police, the man threatened to harm himself as he held multiple knives to his throat.
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The baby was in a car seat in the man’s wingspan, but the man was said to never make a threat to hurt the baby.
Police attempted to negotiate with the man on the front porch, but at some point, SWAT and hostage negotiators were called to the scene, officials say.
After lengthy negotiating, police say they saw a small window of opportunity and deployed "less lethal technology," getting the man away from the baby and taken to safety.
Video from the incident showed the man took off running from the porch but was quickly taken down and into custody.
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The woman and the baby boy were taken to the hospital to get checked out. The man was also taken to the hospital to be evaluated.