Hostage Standoff At Westchase Hotel Ends Peacefully: Sheriff

WESTCHASE, FL — A standoff between the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office and an armed man barricaded with two family members in a hotel ended peacefully after more than eight hours of negotiations.

At 11:14 p.m. on Sunday, the sheriff's communications bureau received a phone call regarded a barricaded man with two family members inside a room at the Suburban Extended Stay Hotel, 6902 Hillsborough Avenue, Tampa.

The caller said the man, Victor Hernandez Figueroa, 53, who was visiting Florida from North Carolina, had a small firearm in his possession.

The sheriff's SWAT and Crisis Negotiation Team were called in to assist. The teams spent more than eight hours trying to make contact with Figueroa but the sheriff's office said he ignored the multiple calls made to his hotel room and the announcements on a loudspeaker to give come out unarmed.

Multiple gunshots were fired from inside the room, including one toward deputies outside the room. No deputies returned fire. One deputy has a minor laceration to the face from shrapnel.

Around 7:45 a.m., Hernandez Figueroa came out of the hotel room and surrendered to deputies without incident. The two family members who were inside the room with Figueroa were also unharmed.

"This investigation was a complete team effort," said Sheriff Chad Chronister. "All of our units worked tirelessly and in tandem to bring this incident to a peaceful ending during the hours-long investigation. I also want to thank Hillsborough County Fire Rescue for their assistance during our investigation."

Deputies discovered that Figueroa tried to start a fire inside the hotel room. About 50 to 60 people were evacuated from as a precaution.

Figueroa is charged with two counts of false imprisonment, battery, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, arson, aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer with a deadly weapon and attempted first-degree murder of a law enforcement officer.