Standoff at Texas home has ended after hostages are released

CEDAR PARK, Texas –A standoff that began Sunday at a home in Texas has ended peacefully, Cedar Park police announced Monday.

“The suspect and last hostage have come out of the home peacefully. The scene will continue to be active for quite a while as we investigate,” police tweeted.

The suspect was identified as Joseph DeSean Taylor, 26. He has been charged with three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon on a public servant and three counts of aggravated kidnapping, according to a Cedar Park police news release.

Taylor was taken to a local hospital to be examined, and is waiting to be taken to the Williamson County Jail, police said.

The standoff began Sunday afternoon when police were responding to a call at a home in the Austin suburb from a woman who said her son “had kicked in the door and was acting very aggressive,” Cedar Park Interim Chief of Police Mike Harmon said at a press briefing that night.

When responding officers went into the house, “they were met with gunfire” and the “officers returned gunfire,” Harmon said. Three officers were shot, but they are stable and “doing well,” Harmon said.

The three officers were identified as Jacqueline Quiles, Cris Hester and Nik Anderson. An internal investigation by Cedar Park Police Department’s Professional Standards Division is also underway per department policy, police said.

Following the shootout, the suspect barricaded himself inside the home with his mother, brother and sister. Police had been in contact with him and the others in the house.

After 16 hours, the brother and sister were released Monday morning, Harmon said. By about 9 a.m., the suspect and the last hostage, his mother, came out of the house peacefully, police tweeted.

The Texas Rangers are now leading the investigation into the incident.