By The Associated Press
A person died this Thursday during the rescue of three immigrants who had been kidnapped in Houston (Texas) and remained hostage for three days, authorities said.
The three immigrants
were kidnapped while traveling in the same vehicle
on Interstate 10 in southern Waller County on March 18, when their car was stopped by an unknown number of people who forced them into another vehicle, reported Sean Whittmore, a prosecutor in the Walley County District Attorney's Office.
[USA. and Canada reach agreement to return immigrants]
The driver of the car carrying the immigrants is believed to have called 911 and informed the Waller County Sheriff's Office of the kidnapping.
The FBI goes to the site where three immigrants who spent three days as hostages in Houston, Texas were rescued.
PA
The Sheriff's Office worked the case with the FBI, whose agents were involved in the Thursday morning shooting in north Houston that led to the rescue of the immigrants.
They asked for a reward, and then more
The kidnappers demanded money from the family of at least one of the immigrants and, after receiving that sum, asked for more
, according to a person familiar with the matter.
That source said that during the negotiations, the kidnappers sent the authorities videos showing that they were armed and that the hostages were alive.
In one of the videos, one of the kidnappers appears beating one of the hostages, an older man.
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An exchange of fire took place between FBI agents and the kidnappers before dawn Thursday in which one of the kidnappers was killed and another was arrested, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to discuss the case. publicly.
The FBI office in Houston declined to comment on how the immigrants were found, what sparked the shooting, how many agents were involved, when the exchange of fire took place and whether the person killed was one of the kidnappers.
"All the hostages were rescued"
A large police presence could be seen hours later Thursday morning at a motel, but the FBI indicated there was no longer any danger to the community.
[Border crossings into the US through Canada increase]
"All hostages were rescued, no FBI agents were injured and one individual was killed," the agency said in a statement.
The FBI indicated that the shooting that left one dead was going to be investigated.
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The kidnapped immigrants had crossed into the United States illegally from Mexico, according to the source familiar with the case.
Whitemore declined to comment on the immigration status of the immigrants, his nationality or whether he was being illegally transported at the time of the abduction.
An Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman did not respond to questions about the hostages' immigration status.
