An FBI operation to rescue a Texas man from the clutches of kidnappers went horribly wrong after an agent shot and killed the victim, according to local media reports.
Authorities acknowledged the fatal mistake, although they didn’t reveal how and why the victim was shot, KHOU reported.
Victim Ulises Viladares’ 12-year-old son reportedly told police that two armed men burst into their Houston home and demanded $8,000 that they said they were owed. The men tied up the boy and his father, before leaving with the father.
The kidnappers then called Viladares’ brother demanding a $20,000 ransom, at which point the FBI was informed. The FBI traced the call to a Best Western hotel, which they raided and arrested two men accused of being involved in the plot.
Those two suspects then pointed the FBI agents to a home where they said the victim was held. FBI agents and police then raided the home before 4 a.m. Thursday, which is when the shooting occurred.
Get daily National news
A third suspect was arrested at the home, and all three could be charged with murder because their crime of kidnapping led to the victim’s death, KHOU reported.
WATCH: Kidnapping victim fatally shot in FBI rescue gone wrong
READ MORE: Calgary police issue warrant for American already accused in fatal Kansas swatting call
The agent who shot the kidnapping victim is on administrative leave while the FBI investigates the incident.
The victim’s son is in the custody of Child Protective Services and hasn’t been informed about his father’s death, CBS News reported.
“The system failed,” Conroe Police Chief Philip Dupuis said. “Whether it was accidental or not, the man is not going home to his family.”
- ‘I couldn’t stop crying’: Memorial grows for 5-year-old boy killed in home
- 6 cult leaders convicted of forcing kids to work unpaid or face ‘eternal hellfire’
- Arrests in Canada part of global takedown of criminal messaging app: police
- Associate of Frenchman on trial for mass rape admits to copycat abuse
Comments