Man in custody after SWAT scene unfolds in Kingwood neighborhood
SWAT scene unfolds in Kingwood
A man was taken into custody after a SWAT standoff at a Kingwood home on Thursday morning.
HOUSTON - A man was taken into custody after a SWAT standoff at a Kingwood home on Thursday morning.
SWAT scene in Kingwood
What we know:
A 38-year-old man was taken into custody Thursday morning after a SWAT standoff at a Kingwood home, leaving behind damaged windows and a homeowner who says he had no idea why authorities had descended on his property.
The scene unfolded on Garden Lake Drive off Woodland Hills Drive and Tree Lane.
According to the Harris County Sheriff's Office, the man was wanted by the Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Fugitive Task Force on a felony warrant.
HCSO says its SWAT team assisted the task force in serving that warrant. Authorities say the man refused to come out of the home before he was eventually taken into custody.
What we don't know:
Authorities have not publicly identified the man.
Homeowner Describes Raid
Man wakes up to SWAT standoff around his home
A man was taken into custody following an early-morning SWAT scene in the Kingwood area on Thursday. FOX 26's Karys Belger talked to the homeowner who says he didn't know the wanted suspect was in the home until he woke up to law enforcement surrounding it.
What they're saying:
Russ Gundrum says he has lived in the home for nearly 40 years.
He told FOX 26 he was asleep early Thursday morning when bright lights flashing inside the house woke him.
Gundrum says several windows were broken during the operation. He eventually got his daughter downstairs, and the two walked outside with their hands raised.
"Real, real bright. And nobody said anything, but I, you know, I got my daughter downstairs, and we held our hands up, you know, walked outside."
Gundrum says his wife, who has serious health problems and could not walk out of the home on her own, remained inside. She was later taken to the hospital.
Gundrum told FOX 26 he later learned authorities were at his home looking for his daughter's new husband.
He says he did not know the man was inside the home that night.
FOX 26 has asked the U.S. Marshals Service and HCSO for additional information about the man's identity and the felony warrant.
Gundrum described a massive law enforcement presence outside his home.
"They had SWAT. They had all these heavy-duty vehicles. I saw two robots. They said they had a drone. I mean, it was a wild scene out here."
Nearby school responds
The operation also prompted a security response at nearby Bear Branch Elementary.
Humble ISD confirmed the school was placed on "Secure the Perimeter" because of police activity in the area.
"During Secure the Perimeter, students and staff remain in the building and access to the campus is restricted. Classes continue as normal during this time," a district official said.
The restriction has since been lifted.
The Source: Information from this article was provided by Houston Police Department officials and homeowner Russ Gundrum.