A high-tech bomb squad robot played a crucial role in safely ending an armed standoff in Lubbock, Texas, on Wednesday, when it neutralized a dangerous fugitive who had barricaded himself inside a hotel room. Felix Delarosa, 39, had violated his parole and was wanted by authorities after tampering with his monitoring device.
The Texas Anti-Gang unit tracked Delarosa to a Days Inn hotel, where he had barricaded himself. As officers attempted to arrest him, Delarosa fired several shots at law enforcement, forcing them to call in the Lubbock County Sheriff’s SWAT team. Despite attempts by negotiators to convince him to surrender, Delarosa refused and continued shooting.
As the standoff dragged on, a sheriff’s sniper allegedly hit Delarosa with a shot, but the suspect remained barricaded. Law enforcement then deployed a bomb squad robot to safely approach the suspect. Delarosa shot at the robot, but the machine countered by spraying tear gas into the room.
The tear gas forced Delarosa to crawl out of the room, where he was visibly disoriented. The bomb squad robot then drove over Delarosa, pinning him to the ground. In a bizarre moment, the robot’s wheels pulled down the suspect’s pants, leaving him further incapacitated as SWAT officers moved in to arrest him.
Delarosa was transported to a hospital for treatment before being booked into the Lubbock County Detention Center. He is now facing charges of aggravated assault on a public servant. The use of the bomb squad robot was credited with resolving the standoff without risking the lives of law enforcement officers.
