A Domestic Disturbance Leads To A High-Speed Chase

A domestic disturbance incident in the 4900 block of East Creek Ridge Drive is believed to be what began a high-speed chase with Houston Police on Tuesday.

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ABC 13 in Houston reports that the Houston Police Department received a call of a domestic incident at approximately 1:30 p.m. of a man with a gun outside a residence telling relatives that he planned to shoot them. A short time later, several Houston Police cruisers arrived at the scene.

According to a woman who saw the scene unfold outside her home, police had weapons drawn on the suspect, telling him to drop his gun and that they didn’t want to shoot him. According to the eyewitness, the man urged the police to shoot him.

During the standoff, somehow, the suspect managed to get into his dark-colored Nissan and drive off. The suspect then circled the block three times before getting onto the Gulf Freeway during the afternoon commute and heading toward Downtown Houston with HPD officers in pursuit.

The ABC SkyEye helicopter followed the high-speed chase from the air from the East 610 Loop. At one point, the suspect exited the Freeway and took multiple surface streets in an attempt to elude police. The suspect then got back onto the highway at the 610 entry ramp.

The chase then headed northbound on the I-45 to Scott Street, then toward Pease heading to Downtown Houston. At least one driver suffered damage to their car when the suspect vehicle hit their rear bumper. No injuries were reported.

Related: High Speed Chase Ends in Fatality

When the chase led to the downtown area, eyewitnesses say that the suspect was driving erratically, sometimes even driving on the sidewalk. HPD officers backed off to avoid injuring other motorists and pedestrians. The suspect was spotted a short time later and police managed to catch up to him after his vehicle struck a pole on San Jacinto at Rusk.

Police pulled the suspect out of his car. Authorities say that the unidentified African American man with a history of mental illness was combative and resisted arrest. He faces numerous charges.