DALLAS — More than nine hours after it began, the standoff between police and a murder suspect who officials said barricaded himself inside a home after firing at officers earlier this morning is over, Dallas police said in a Wednesday night news release.
Julio Guerrero, 28, was taken into custody a little after 7 p.m. Wednesday, police said. He was wanted for murder in the May 2 shooting death of Fransisco Villanueva Rodriguez, 35, and also wanted in the May 10 shooting of a 3-year-old girl, both in Dallas. He was also wanted for three outstanding aggravated assault felony warrants, police said. He now also faces an additional aggravated assault on a public servant charge, police said.
Police had been asking people to avoid the area near the 4500 block of Humphrey Drive near Wadsworth Drive - in the southern end of Dallas, just west of Interstate 45 and north of Loop 12 - as the standoff unfolded for much of the day.
What happened
According to Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia, officers, including the U.S. Marshals Taskforce, had been at the home as early as 6 a.m. to do surveillance on Guerrero.
At around 10:45 a.m., Garcia said Guerrero arrived at the home and went inside, at which point officers approached to make an arrest. After that, police said the suspect ran into the home and started shooting at officers but doubled back before locking himself inside the home.
Five children were inside the home, but police were able to get the kids out with no incident, police said in the news release.
"Thankfully, no officers were struck," Garcia tweeted.
Police and other agents - including SWAT units - were outside, working to get Guerrero to surrender. WFAA crews on scene reported hearing bangs - tear gas, according to police on scene - go off a few times. Families in the immediate area also had to be evacuated as police work on getting the suspect out.
Police said in the news release they used tear gas "on multiple occasions" to get Guerrero to come out of the house, but that didn't work. SWAT negotiators talked to him shortly before 7 p.m., and he surrendered peacefully at 7:05, police said.
Guerrero was uninjured but evaluated by medical personnel. He is currently awaiting booking into the Dallas County jail.
Neighbor response
Aerials over the scene showed a heavy police presence along a wooded area near a group of homes.
Brigetta Cherry lives near where the SWAT standoff happened and said she heard the gunfire go off this morning.
"This is not the life you want to live," she told WFAA.
Police told WFAA's crews on scene that children were near the gunfire when it began this morning, but they were moved to safety and took shelter nearby. Meanwhile, Garcia said he is thankful that the situation appears to be controlled and did not result in a loss of life.
"I am proud of my officers and we are very fortunate we did not lose an officer's life chasing an individual who is causing our community harm," he said.
You can watch Garcia's full briefing in the video player below.
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