15 October 2011

Armed Man in Standoff in Farmers Branch

Armed Man in Standoff in Farmers Branch

An armed man barricaded inside a home in Farmers Branch said he has a bomb and set the house on fire, police said.

The standoff is ongoing in the 2500 block of Avenel Drive.

Just after 4 a.m. Saturday, police found the man with a gun hiding under his ex-girlfriend's bed, while three children and their grandmother were inside the house.

Rachel Tanner says among the children were a 2-year-old girl fathered by the barricaded man and her 13 and 16-year-old sons.

Police got the children and their grandmother out of the home safely but left the man inside and retreated after he threatened to kill himself.

The SWAT team arrived to help with negotiations, as police said the man set the house on fire from inside a front room.

Firefighters did not go into the house, police said, because of the bomb threat and the fact that the man is armed. Instead, they put out the fire from the air while the SWAT team surrounded them. But the house was destroyed, and the man moved to the backyard, where the SWAT team said they could see him with what appeared to be a pistol.

Neighbors were evacuated as a safety precaution.

It all started when Tanner said she went out with friends and received a few strange phone calls from the house and no one was speaking on the other end. Tanner said she drove home as fast as she could and called 911 on the way home.

Tanner said her ex-boyfriend has been in and out of jail for assaulting her and violating a protective order. She said he got out of jail on bond about one week ago and is not supposed to be at her home because of a restraining order against him.

 

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