Smith County Sheriff identifies suspect involved in Tyler standoff

TYLER, Texas (KLTV) - The Smith County Sheriff’s Office has released the identity of a suspect who was involved in a standoff in North Tyler Tuesday.

According to a press release from the Smith County Sheriff’s Office, on Tuesday afternoon, December 3, at 2:16 p.m. a Smith County Sheriff’s K-9 Deputy initiated a traffic stop on a known felony suspect in the Econo-Lodge parking lot located at 2631 WNW Loop 323 in Tyler. Additional personnel with the Smith County Sheriff’s Office and Texas Department of Public Safety were also on location at the time of the stop.

The release said upon parking his truck, the suspect, Nasir Saleh-Saad Jabr -35, immediately barricaded himself in his vehicle and refused to cooperate with the lawful commands of law enforcement personnel. A female passenger managed to exit the truck and she was removed to a safe location. It was quickly determined that the suspect was armed with at least one handgun so a perimeter was quickly established and citizens were removed from the area.

Trained negotiators and SWAT Operators from both the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Smith County Sheriff’s Office arrived on scene. They were able to establish contact with the suspect in an attempt to resolve the standoff. The Smith County Sheriff’s Office also utilized several drones to monitor the actions of the suspect while he was in his vehicle.

The release said after several hours, negotiations began to deteriorate and a decision was made to take additional action to neutralize the situation. The priority, at this time, was the safety of law enforcement personnel as well as the suspect. At approximately 6:30 p.m., SWAT personnel were able to breach the back glass of the truck and utilize a flash bang device within the cab of the vehicle. They were then able to quickly shatter the driver’s door window and extract the suspect before he had the opportunity to take any action.

The release said UT Health EMS quickly assessed Jabr’s medical needs and he was subsequently transported to UT Health ER for treatment.

At this time Nasir Jabr is being held on the Parole Violation warrant and other charges are expected shortly.

The release said the successful conclusion of this incident was a combined effort involving the Smith County Sheriff’s Office, Texas Department of Public Safety, Tyler Police Department, Texas Rangers, Tyler Fire Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

RELATED: Tyler standoff ends after flash-bang device used to disorient suspect, safely take him into custody

Copyright 2019 KLTV. All rights reserved.