Man accused of kidnapping wife, child is shot dead by officers on Texas freeway, cops say

A rush-hour shootout on a Texas freeway ended with officers killing a man accused of kidnapping his wife and child, authorities say.

The shooting happened Monday, Oct. 28, on the Southwest Freeway in Houston, but officers said it followed a domestic violence incident the night prior.

Houston Police Executive Chief Thomas Hardin said in a news briefing an assault between the husband and wife was reported Sunday, and the wife then spent the night with a relative.

On Monday, the husband showed up to that relative’s house and kidnapped his wife and child at gunpoint, Hardin said.

Officers later found the accused kidnapper outside a Houston apartment. When officers tried to pull the driver over, he fled, police said.

Two separate times, the man reached out the window of the car and shot at officers who were chasing after him, according to Hardin. The officers were unharmed.

The chase continued to the busy Southwest Freeway around the onset of rush hour. Because of the potential for a high-speed pursuit with an armed individual, officers “decided to end the pursuit as fast as possible,” Hardin said.

Officers executed a PIT maneuver with the driver, police said. Then, three officers shot at the man, killing him, according to the executive chief.

“At the end of the day, both hostages were rescued unharmed because of the courageous acts by our officers and supervisors,” Hardin said.

Police have not publicly released the identity of the man who was killed. It’s unclear how many shots were fired during the incident.

This story was originally published October 29, 2024 at 9:08 AM with the headline "Man accused of kidnapping wife, child is shot dead by officers on Texas freeway, cops say."