By Mitchell Willetts
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
SWEETWATER, Texas — A food delivery driver reported a “suspicious” order to police, revealing a hostage situation at a motel, Texas police said.
The driver’s report about the unusual delivery led officers to the Sweetwater Inn at about 11:30 a.m. Monday, Sept. 22, the Sweetwater Police Department said in a news release.
There they discovered a 42-year-old man, armed with a handgun, was barricaded inside of a room with a hostage and refusing to come out, officials told McClatchy News.
While officers tried to “establish communication” with the man, his hostage escaped to safety, according to the release.
A spokesperson for the department told McClatchy News the man went into the bathroom and the hostage seized the opportunity to flee.
But even without a hostage, the armed man still refused to leave the room, according to police. A crisis negotiator with the state Department of Public Safety arrived at the scene and “negotiated (the man’s) peaceful surrender,” police said.
He was arrested on a charge of aggravated kidnapping, as well as drug charges, police said, adding that the hostage is also facing drug charges.
Police declined to say what the order was, or why it was suspicious, citing an ongoing investigation.
Sweetwater is a roughly 190-mile drive west from Fort Worth.
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