Suspects still at large after Fort Worth standoff

FORT WORTH, Texas - Fort Worth police are still looking for the men who robbed a gas station and prompted a standoff Friday morning.

Police got a call around 4:30 a.m. about a robbery at the Valero near Intestate 35W and Allen Avenue. A witness came into the store and found the clerk tied up, so that witness called 911.

SWAT officers were called to the scene because police weren’t sure if the suspects were still inside the building.

Officers made their way into the gas station about 45 minutes later. FOX 4’s Saul Garza reported heard several flash bangs and then saw officers bring one person out. That was the store clerk.

“SWAT does not come in immediately unless there is a clear and present danger. So if there’s no reason to believe that someone is being held in an active hostage situation, they’ll go ahead and access the situation and make sure it’s safe to SWAT to go in and officers to go in,” said Officer Tamara Valle, a spokeswoman for the Fort Worth Police Department.

Police later determined two masked robbery suspects got into the store through a crawl space. They tied up the clerk and took cash, then they got away through the crawl space. They are still at large.

The incident affected early morning traffic in the area, which is near John Peter Smith Hospital. The northbound I-35W service road and parts of Allen Avenue were blocked off because of the police activity.