A tense standoff at a Lubbock, Texas, hotel ended safely after a bomb squad robot took down an armed fugitive wanted for violating parole. Felix Delarosa, 39, had been on the run after tampering with his electronic monitoring device, but was located at a Days Inn by the Texas Anti-Gang unit on Wednesday.
As officers attempted to apprehend Delarosa, he fired shots from inside his room, escalating the situation. The Lubbock County Sheriff’s SWAT team was called in to negotiate with the barricaded suspect. Despite their efforts to convince Delarosa to surrender, he fired additional shots, leading to an exchange of gunfire during which a sniper allegedly struck him.
In an effort to resolve the situation without further risk to officers, the Lubbock Regional Bomb Squad sent in a robot. The suspect shot at the robot, but the machine responded by releasing tear gas into the room, which disoriented Delarosa. As he crawled out of the room, the robot rolled on top of him, pinning him down.
In a bizarre twist, the robot’s wheels also pulled down Delarosa’s pants, immobilizing him further and allowing the SWAT team to move in and arrest him. Delarosa was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment of his injuries before being transferred to the Lubbock County Detention Center.
Delarosa, who had been serving time for drug-related charges before his parole in 2022, now faces charges of aggravated assault against a public servant. The use of the bomb squad robot allowed law enforcement to end the standoff without putting additional lives at risk, highlighting the importance of such technology in high-pressure situations.
