Pantego SWAT standoff involving elderly woman ends peacefully after 16 hours
PANTEGO, Texas - Law enforcement officials in Tarrant County were finally able to convince an armed woman to surrender after more than 16 hours.
The SWAT standoff in Pantego, near Arlington, began just after 4 p.m. Thursday, as officers were trying to execute a mental health warrant at a home near West Park Row and South Bowen Road.
Police said 72-year-old Janet Sodd was inside the home and showed officers a gun.
"While officers were making their approach, a subject inside the residence opened the door and pointed a weapon at officers," Pantego PD officer Chris Stokes said.
Later, a Tarrant County deputy fired a gun, but apparently did not hit anyone.
Police said Sodd then barricaded herself inside the residence alone.
There were reports early on that Sodd may have stockpiled cans of gasoline in the home. Investigators did not discuss those reports or whether that kind of evidence was found inside.
But there was clearly a public safety concern:
Arlington SWAT came out first, along with Mansfield police.
Eventually, in the early morning hours, Grand Prairie PD SWAT stepped in.
"There is only so much a town our size can prepare for, and having the coordination and partnerships with the large agencies enables us to better serve our community," Stokes said.
Officers took the suspect into custody Friday morning just before 9 a.m. Police said Sodd was found on her back porch.
A FOX 4 crew heard a loud bang just before the arrest.
Cell phone video sent to FOX 4 shows the suspect from the standoff on a stretcher being loaded into an ambulance Friday morning.
Police said Sodd refused to surrender to police for more than 16 hours in her Pantego neighborhood.
Sodd’s home is now left with broken windows and bricks scattered on the driveway.
"They went in with a big arm on the SWAT vehicle to punch holes into the house to send in the tear gas," neighbor Hunter Ross recalled.
Ross and his family were forced to stay inside their home all night, a start to Easter weekend none of them expected.
"I thought I was going to come down for a nice relaxing Easter weekend, and then this happened, so it was pretty wild," Ross added.
His street was swarmed with SWAT teams from multiple North Texas agencies.
"You could see the tear gas coming out of the home. The tear gas was even bothering us 150 feet away in our house," he added.
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Police had asked neighbors to either evacuate or shelter in place while they tried to end the situation. Some were just able to return to their home Friday afternoon.
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The warrant for Sodd was issued out of Tarrant County, but the details are not known at this time.
Pantego police said they had been called to the residence previously.
The neighborhood was reopened Friday morning.
No one was injured during the incident.