Man whose mother was held during armed standoff speaks

PHOENIX (KSAZ) - A 15-hour standoff between Phoenix Police and an armed suspect finally came to an end.

The suspect allegedly held his estranged wife hostage inside a Phoenix hotel room, and refused to come out. At one point, police even had to shut down the I-17, in hopes of bring the situation to a peaceful end.

On Tuesday night, FOX 10 Phoenix spoke with the woman's son, who was communicating with his mother via text, as she was being held against her will, inside that room.

"She basically sent me a text message earlier on at about 3:00 a.m., letting me know that the police were there for my dad," said Brandon Minor, via a phone interview. Minor said she was being held at gunpoint by his father, inside a hotel near I-17 and Peoria Avenue, since around 2:30 a.m. on Tuesday.

"I was basically talking her into getting out of the room for safety," said Minor. "She was saying that she was not able to because he had the gun, and would not allow her to leave."

Police say they tried to stop the man involved near the area for a stolen license plate. That's when he ran to his room in the hotel. Other guests had to be evacuated.

"I was hearing a lot of knocking on my door," said Michelle Smittenaar. "I was assuming it was not my door because I didn't know anyone at the hotel. I went to the door and yelled, 'why ya knocking?'. they said it was the police and I said, 'oh OK'."

After almost 15 hours, police used flash bangs, after they say they heard a shot from inside the room. The suspect had a minor injury, and the victim wasn't hurt. Both are being questioned by police.

Minor blames his father

"He's not the greatest guy in the world," said Minor. "Gets himself into a lot of trouble, and I think he just thought he could use my mother as a fallback plan for it."