A 90-year-old great-grandmother armed with a 12 gauge shotgun held SWAT
officers at bay in Channelview, Texas, for hours on Thursday.
The officers were responding to a 911 call from construction workers
next door who told them she threatened them with the gun.
Deputies say Eleouise Adcock was angry the workers were excavating dirt,
and loading it onto a barge behind her house.
Ms. Adcock has lived on the bank of the San Jacinto River for more than
four decades, but in recent years a marine towing company has moved in
on either side of her house.
“They've bought properties there along the waterfront, and taken down
three to four houses and made room for their equipment and stuff.”
neighbour Sharlene Hathorn said.
Another neighbor said Adcock is the last holdout, refusing to sell her
property, and irritated by the company's repeated attempts to buy it.
“She don't like whats going on over there. She don't want to sell out to
these people here.”
Construction workers called 911 at around 10am saying Adcock was
threatening them with the shotgun.
“They told us she has pointed weapons at them before.” Harris County
Sheriff's Deputy Thomas Gilliland said. “They didn’t tell anyone about
it the first few times. This time they felt she was much more angry about them being here working and excavating the dirt.”
When deputies arrived, she refused to put the gun down as she sat on her porch, holding her weapon in her lap.
The standoff lasted for about four hours, before Adcock began to relax a little.
A sergeant engaged her in conversation while the SWAT team deployed
around her house.
“She talked for a little while, she came and went back into the home,
came back outside and at that point she put the shotgun down,’ Gilliland
said.
SWAT officers rushed the porch, first grabbing the gun, and then her.
Officers appeared to handle Adcock with great care, gently placing their
hands on her back as they escorted her to waiting paramedics.
“She was taken into custody as gently as we could,” Gilliland said.
Because of her age, she was put on a stretcher and taken to the hospital
as a precaution. Deputies say she will get a psychological evaluation.
No charges are expected.
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