A kidnapper who held three migrants hostage for several days in Texas was fatally shot by FBI agents Thursday, officials said.
The kidnapper and a co-conspirator tortured and held the migrants against their own will for five days in a north Houston hideout in an attempt to extort their families for money, authorities and a source familiar with the case said.
Just before daybreak Thursday, federal agents moved in and rescued the hostages, which led to gunfire.
An FBI agent or agents fired the deadly shot — and took the second kidnapper into custody.
The migrants were all rescued safely, according to James Smith, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Houston office.
The unnamed kidnappers had jumped their victims on March 18 when they were traveling in a car on Interstate 10 in a Houston suburb.
A Waller County prosecutor said the suspects stopped the vehicle and forced them into another car before transporting them to the hideout. The migrants’ driver was the first one to alert police.
The kidnappers demanded money from the family of at least one of the migrants, the source, who requested anonymity, said.
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When the family forked over the cash, the kidnappers increased the ransom.
During negotiations, the assailants sent multiple videos to local police to indicate they were armed. At least one video showed them beating one of the hostages, who was described as an older man.
FBI agents descended on the hostage lair Thursday to rescue the hostages.
Smith did not say how they found the migrants, what led up to the shooting or how many agents were involved — only that one suspect was killed and another arrested. Neither of the suspect’s identities has been released.
The hostages were safely relocated to a hotel, Smith said.
Authorities said all three migrants had illegally crossed the border from Mexico, but would not disclose their nationalities or whether they were being illegally transported at the time of their kidnapping.
With Post wires
