SWAT team intervenes in hostage-taking in Toa Baja

Police negotiators worked swiftly to convince a man with a knife to release his mother, but after the release the man stabbed a pet dog, and a tactical entry was carried out resulting in the assailant’s arrest. The pet was rescued and promptly taken for veterinary care.

By The Star Staff

The Puerto Rico Police Bureau’s SWAT team intervened Thursday morning in a situation in which a man barricaded himself with a knife and held his mother against her will at a residence on Gardenia Street in the La Rosaleda 2 development in Toa Baja.

The intervention took place in relation to a protection order for an elderly person in favor of the mother, which was processed the previous day.

Thanks to the quick work of police negotiators, the individual, identified as Gabriel Fernández Agosto, was convinced to release his mother. However, after the release, Fernández Agosto inflicted stab wounds on a Siberian Husky dog with a knife. In response, a tactical entry was carried out resulting in the assailant’s arrest.

The pet was rescued and immediately taken away for veterinary care.

The negotiation was led by Capt. Raúl Negrón Caldero and Agent Fernán Colón.