SWAT team dissolves Alamo hostage situation

ALAMO — Authorities used a bean-bag gun to subdue a man after he allegedly held his family hostage early Wednesday morning.

Officers received a call of a family disturbance about 3 a.m. Wednesday at 404 Alma St., said Alamo police Chief Arturo Espinoza.

The man was allegedly holding his wife and two children hostage inside their home, Espinoza said. When police arrived, the woman managed to escape with her kids.

"While securing the area, we heard a shot inside the house so we barricaded the area," he said.

The standoff lasted about two hours, when the San Juan Police SWAT team stormed the house and shot the man with a bean bag, Espinoza said.

Police did not release the identity of the man, who was transported to McAllen Medical Center to treat injuries from the bean bag gun, the police chief said.

The man faces unlawful restraint charges for the hostage situation with his wife and children, a state jail felony that carries a maximum two-year jail sentence and up to a $10,000 fine.

The man's wife and children are staying with other relatives as officers continue to investigate the crime scene, Espinoza said.

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Jared Taylor covers law enforcement and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4439.