TAMPA BAY, FL – On April 12, took Victor Hernandez-Figueroa, 53, into custody, following an armed standoff with several local law enforcement agencies, in which a woman and her 2-year-old child were held hostage by the suspect.
The hours-long ordeal began around 11 p.m., Sunday, inside a room at the Suburban Extended Stay Hotel. Between 50-60 guests were ordered to leave the hotel during the standoff.
The Dispatch reported:
Hernandez refused to come out and ignored multiple calls and announcements made to him for more than eight hours.
Multiple gunshots were fired from inside of the room, including one toward deputies, according to law enforcement. No deputies returned fire, although one deputy had a minor laceration to the face due to shrapnel.
Eventually Hernandez surrendered to law enforcement without incident. It was discovered afterwards that the suspect attempted unsuccessfully to set fire to the room during the standoff.
Both the woman and child are immediate family members of the suspect, and all were said to be on vacation, when Hernandez pulled a gun on the victims and refused to let them leave, according to court documents.
Hernandez has been charged with two counts of armed false imprisonment, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, attempted murder of a law enforcement officer, aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer with a deadly weapon, arson of an occupied dwelling and battery. He is currently being held at the Hillsborough County Jail on $415,000 bail (and several holds).
*Hernandez is reportedly in the country illegally from Mexico, and resides in Lexington, North Carolina.
