Benbrook girl safe, suspect is shot dead in Bossier City, officials say

Nine-year-old Caitlyn Williams of Benbrook, who was reported missing on Monday, was found safe at a Louisiana motel Tuesday afternoon, but a man with her was killed, officials said.

Benbrook police said earlier that they believed Caitlyn was kidnapped by an uncle, Jessie Nicholas Williams, 24, of Arlington.

Gunfire broke out about 2 p.m. at a Days Inn, Bossier City police said. An FBI agent was shot in the leg but was expected to recover, the FBI said.

The FBI would not confirm that a man with the girl was killed. A Benbrook police spokesman said a suspect was killed but declined to identify him.

Police responded to the first report of the missing girl about 3 p.m. Monday. Caitlyn’s parents told police that she left home about 3:30 p.m. Friday to spend the weekend with a friend but had not returned.

Officers canvassed the neighborhood around the family’s home in the 1100 block of Wade Hampton Drive and interviewed neighbors, friends and relatives.

Police learned that Caitlyn was seen with her uncle Friday evening at Capello Salon on Bryant Irvin Road in Fort Worth, where police said Caitlyn’s long, wavy hair was cut. The person who answered the phone at the salon on Tuesday referred all questions to Benbrook police.

A few hours later, Jessie Williams and Caitlyn were seen at a motel in Fort Worth near Interstate 35W and Altamesa Boulevard, police said.

An Amber Alert was issued for Caitlyn at 4:30 a.m. Tuesday, and an arrest warrant was issued for Jessie Williams.

An Amber Alert wasn’t issued earlier because an alert requires “a specific suspect and/or vehicle,” which police didn’t have until early Tuesday morning.

The Amber Alert led to numerous tips that sent FBI agents and officers with an FBI task force for the Shreveport area to the motel, police said. There, an officer confronted a man, and “a struggle ensued,” according to a FBI statement.

Bossier City is about 220 miles east of Fort Worth.

At 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, the girl’s father, Shawn Williams, who choked up as he spoke on the phone, said he had not talked to his daughter and had no information about the shooting.

Earlier Tuesday relatives and friends posted pleas for help on Facebook. “Please help bring my niece home,” wrote Crystal Williams.

Family members had been unable to contact Jessie Williams for two days, which is unusual, police said.

Jessie Williams is a 2009 graduate of Arlington High School and had worked programming computer games, according to his Facebook page. On Oct. 6, 2011, he wished Caitlyn a happy birthday on his Facebook page.

This story was originally published May 26, 2015 at 8:08 AM with the headline "Benbrook girl safe, suspect is shot dead in Bossier City, officials say."