Suspect in standoff arrested after shots fired near Fort Worth elementary school
A man accused of shooting at his girlfriend’s car and threatening to kill her was arrested Tuesday afternoon, ending a standoff at a Fort Worth house near an elementary school and a daycare.
Police said he was arrested on South Crowley Road without incident. No other details on how they found him or what happened during the arrest were provided.
Police believed the suspect, who was not immediately identified, had been armed inside a home in the 8500 block of Willow Creek Court, Fort Worth police officer Buddy Calzada said. The suspect was arrested two miles from the house. It’s unclear whether he was ever inside the house during the hours-long ordeal or how he got to the area in which he was arrested.
The standoff began when officers were called to a shooting at Willow Creek Court at 7:18 a.m. Calzada said the suspect — who has not been identified — fired several times at a car parked in a driveway near Parkway Elementary. The school, which is in the Crowley school district, was on lockdown during the standoff.
Over the course of the morning, more than 40 police units were dispatched to the scene, including four medical units.
No one was injured either inside or outside the school, Calzada said.
Calzada said the girlfriend, who was standing outside when the shooting occurred, was able to get to safety with her mother. Officers believed the man had barricaded himself alone inside the home. They were told several weapons were inside the home.
Police did not immediately say what led to the altercation between the suspect and his girlfriend.
Two explosions were heard at 10:25 a.m. coming from the standoff area. About two hours later, dozens of bangs from tear gas canisters could be heard blocks away from the home. Before the tear gas explosions, Calzada said officers made contact with the suspect by phone.
The man told police he wasn’t inside the house, but authorities treated it as if he were inside for safety purposes, Calzada said.
Calzada said there was never an exchange of gunfire.
Dozens of parents waited outside of Parkway Elementary and watched the scene unfold. Shortly before noon, officers on a loudspeaker moved them back about three more blocks while calling the situation dangerous. Several officers with long guns then positioned themselves in the middle of Everman Parkway.
“Leave the area, neighborhood is closed,” one officer could be heard saying on a loud speaker.
La Petite Academy on West Everman Parkway and across from the home was also locked down.
Patrice Dixon, 38, of Fort Worth said she was scared for her grandchildren, a 1-year-old and a 3-year-old who go to La Petite.
“These kids, they already go through too much,” she said outside the daycare she was not allowed to enter. “Us parents, we just come up here even though they told us not to.”
Gladys Wiggins, a teacher at the school, said she’d never heard of anything like the standoff happening in that area.
At 11 a.m., Parkway Elementary put a notice on its website that asked for parents to stay away from the school.
Students enrolled in morning half-day pre-kindergarten classes were moved safely by bus to Sycamore Elementary School, 1601 Country Manor Road in Fort Worth.
Students enrolled in the half-day pre-kindergarten classes were asked not to go to school on Tuesday.
This story was originally published October 2, 2018 at 10:58 AM with the headline "Suspect in standoff arrested after shots fired near Fort Worth elementary school."