Immigrant standoff in Brownsville ends

BROWNSVILLE — A standoff involving 24 undocumented immigrants who were held captive by gunmen was diffused peacefully by the Brownsville police SWAT team just before noon Monday.

The standoff began when one of the immigrants managed to escape through the back window of a home near Coffee Port Road just before 9 a.m.

The man ran across the street to a nearby house and asked for help.

"I was just here watering my lawn when a young man came running asking to use the phone," said the neighbor, who called authorities. "I brought him in, my wife made him breakfast because he said he hadn't eaten in days and after calling the police I came back out to water my yard."

Police deployed their special weapons and tactics (SWAT) team and their hostage negotiation team to deal with the situation.

The police BearCat - an armored SWAT unit - was also brought in to help officers safely approach the house and diffuse the situation. U.S. Border Patrol and FBI agents were standing by at the scene of the standoff.

Hostage negotiators with Brownsville police were able to set up a secure phone and video cameras into the house to begin speaking with those inside the house, said police spokesman Sgt. Jimmy Manrrique.

After negotiating with police, the immigrants and two of the suspects started exiting the house one by one, Garcia said.

The third suspect didn't exit the house but stayed behind hiding in a tool shed in hopes that police would leave, the police chief said.

"Obviously, we didn't leave and that didn't work," Garcia said adding that after police moved in, the suspect was arrested without resisting or without any further incident.

The police chief said that the immigrants and the suspects were found in apparent good health and with minimal injuries.

"They showed some scabbing in the knee from apparently being forced to kneel," Garcia said.

As soon as the immigrants and the suspects had been secured by Brownsville police, U.S. Border Patrol and FBI agents moved in to begin their investigation into human smuggling and to process the immigrants.

Charges are pending against the three suspects.