A homicide suspect barricaded himself inside a hotel room on Tucsonβs south side Tuesday, before apparently killing himself during a standoff with police.
On Tuesday morning, Tucson police were called to the 3700 block of East 23rd Street, south of Reid Park, where they found Flor Del Mar Hernandez Tapia, 39, shot to death. Another 19-year-old woman had also been shot, suffering non-life-threatening injuries.
Tapiaβs boyfriend, Brandon Michael Watts, 39, emerged as a suspect, police said.
It was determined that Watts had fled to a hotel near South Palo Verde Road and Interstate 10.
About 8:30 a.m. Pima County Sheriffβs Department deputies arrived at the hotel after getting a report of a domestic disturbance. Watts then barricaded himself in a hotel room with hostages, including a mother and four children, Tucson police said.
A hostage negotiation unit attempted to talk Watts down over the course of several hours. Eventually, negotiators and Pima Regional SWAT were able to get Watts to release the hostages.
According to officials, the children involved were not harmed, but their mother was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
As the standoff drew on for hours, Watts refused to surrender.
Eventually, the call was made by SWAT to enter Wattsβ room around 5:40 p.m., where they found him dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Police are continuing to investigate. At this time, there are no other suspects.
