HOUSTON, TX – An unexpected FBI operation in the early hours of Wednesday led to the arrest of several individuals in a neighborhood just east of downtown Houston. The action took place on Harby Street, near Sidney Street, where law enforcement officers rescued a number of potential victims.
The scene was captured on surveillance footage, showing a man rushing into a house as a SWAT team arrived, their armored vehicle equipped with a tactical battering ram shattering the silence of the morning as it forced open the door. Austin Kimbrough, the owner of the house, watched the events unfold on his security cameras.
Kimbrough, who rented the property out, described the surreal scene. “It’s not every day you see a truck full of guys in tactical gear storming your house,” he said. The video showed agents entering and exiting the house, breaking windows, while members of the FBI hostage rescue team and FBI Houston’s SWAT team led individuals out of the property.
According to the FBI, four suspects were apprehended and several potential victims were rescued. Kimbrough was later interviewed by FBI agents. “They informed me that the people inside are now safe. I’m not sure if they were kidnapped or trafficked,” he said.
The agents also confiscated items from the house. “They removed some firearms, cash, and phones, but nothing really unusual, except maybe the $12,000 in cash,” Kimbrough added.
Kimbrough revealed that the house had been rented on a short-term basis since March 31 to five people, but he noticed more people inside. “From the video, I could see up to nine people, coming and going at all hours. I didn’t suspect anything until the FBI showed up,” he said.